Women to overtake men in Scottish legal profession this year

2015 will be the year of the woman as far as Scotland’s legal profession is concerned.

Scottish Legal News has undertaken a survey of the six Scottish universities offering the Diploma in Legal Practice and found that 62 per cent of the 589 current Diploma students are women with only 223 males taking the qualification necessary to become a solicitor.

Our research follows the news from the Law Society of Scotland that 49 per cent of Scotland’s lawyers were women in 2014.

With males dominating in the older age groups nearing retirement it seems safe to surmise that this year women will become the majority – just as they are in the Republic of Ireland where, at the end of 2014, there were 4,623 female solicitors compared to 4,609 male solicitors.

The figures are striking – with women outnumbering male students atDundee University by more than five to one.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Criminal Bar Association celebrated International Women’s Day yesterday with the announcement that women now outnumber men on the SCBA committee by seven to five.

Have your say

There is much speculation as to why the gender balance within the legal profession is changing but we would like to hear from our readers on the subject. Please send your comments to: newsdesk@scottishnews.com

Diploma class breakdown by university*:

University

No. of students

Male

Female

Aberdeen

78

33

45

Dundee

39

6

33

Edinburgh

110

44

66

Glasgow

164

63

101

Robert Gordon

32

9

23

Strathclyde

166

68

98

*Figures correct as of early 2015.