The Law Council of Australia welcomes the success of its Equitable Briefing Policy in achieving briefing rates targets and driving change, but is concerned by the continuing gender pay gap faced by women barristers.
"There are some very positive takeaways from the eighth Annual Report of the Law Council's Equitable Briefing Policy," Law Council of Australia President Juliana Warner said.
"In particular, that the target of ensuring women barristers receive at least 30 per cent of all briefs continues to be exceeded. This is a third year in a row this goal has been met.
"There are a number of particularly pleasing indicators, such as the briefing rates for junior women barristers, which was 40 per cent in the 2023-24 financial year; and that barristers reported they were briefed with women barristers 44 per cent of the time, which is an increase of two per cent over the previous year.
"Reports from barristers also showed that women barristers were being recommended more often for both current and new matters. Women barristers were recommended by another barrister 59 per cent of the time.
"I commend the adoptees of the Policy for the impact they are having on optimising opportunities for all barristers. We can see that these efforts are making a real difference.
"However, despite the progress that has been made since the Policy's inception, there is still more to be done – especially when it comes to overall briefing fee value.
"While women barristers received 31 per cent of briefs, they only received 22 per cent of the overall briefing fee value – well below the target of 30 per cent.
"Progress has been made since the introduction of the Policy in 2016, but the pay gap remains too wide. While the report explores possible reasons for the gap, and a number of entities reported paying more than the target of 30 per cent of all brief fees to women barristers, this remains a significant concern. "
While this finding is disappointing, without the Equitable Briefing Policy we would not have access to this data. The information and insight provided through the Annual Reports provides us a time series through which we can see where improvements are being made and where focus is still required.
"A review of the Equitable Briefing Policy is currently underway to ensure it is appropriate and adapted to achieve its purpose. I thank the Law Council's Equal Opportunity Committee for its ongoing efforts regarding the Equitable Briefing Policy and our broader diversity work."
