Male barristers and judges bag a whopping 77% more dosh in general than their female counterparts, while the chaps on solicitor side are 25% better off
As the testosterone settles following International Men’s Day (that was yesterday, for all those failing to clock it), some sobering statistics emerged regarding pay disparities between boys and girls in the legal profession.
The Independent newspaper highlighted official figures showing that the mean salary for male solicitors in the UK is more than 25% higher than that of their female counterparts.
The figures — from the British government’s Office for National Statistics — list the mean annual salary for men solicitors as £55,528, compared to £44,097 for women.
Indeed, the gap is even wider at the bar and on the bench. The ONS blends those two branches of the profession, with the mean annual earnings for men a whopping 77% higher than those for women — £63,575 compared with £35,844.
So shocked were the newspaper’s hacks by the disparity at the bar and bench, they made a special point of mentioning they had double-checked those figures.
To be fair, the legal profession was hardly alone in having a disparity in pay favouring men. Of the 18 job categories listed in the research, only three had pay gaps with women better off than men.
They are special needs teaching (women: £35,130; men: £34,495), fitness instruction (women: £21,685; men £18,040), and, curiously, undertakers (women: £25,211; men: £21,083).
For those gagging to know, International Men’s Day was organised by Australia-based Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation, which appears to be akin to the UK’s Father’s4Justice.
According to the organisers, the day’s objectives include:
“A focus on men’s and boy’s health, improving gender relations, promoting gender equality, and highlighting positive male role models. It is an occasion for men to celebrate their achievements and contributions, in particular their contributions to community, family, marriage, and childcare while highlighting the discrimination against them.”