Thursday, March 8, was International Women’s Day, a keystone of Women’s History Month and organizations across the continent took the opportunity to weigh in on the status of women in law. Jenny Waters, executive director of the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), said the organization has been hard at work advancing women’s issues. She also noted social media was bustling with support for female attorneys on Thursday.

"We just got back from our Mid-Year Meeting and Awards Luncheon in Miami where we celebrated women who are making a difference for other women in the legal profession, we offered skills training to give women the tools to succeed and advance in the profession, and we shared best practices on how to support all women, including those facing intersectional barriers," Waters said. "That is what we do all year round so for us every day is a day to celebrate women."

According to information from an NAWL survey, women now make up a larger share of equity partners and leadership positions in law firms than a decade ago, but most of their gains have been in non-partner track position. In 2007, 15% of women were equity partners at their law firms, compared to 19% last year.

"While this increase is welcomed, law firms continue to fall short of the original NAWL Challenge goal of 30% set more than 10 years ago, and long-term sustained progress will be required to achieve the Challenge goal,” the survey report reads. In the last 10 years, half of law school students in America have been women.

Women in lower-tier positions make up larger chunks of their firm’s rosters, according to the survey, accounting for 46% of associates, 30% of non-equity partners, 42% of non-partner track attorneys and 39% of “other” attorneys not included in those categories.

The American Bar Association also celebrated the progress women made in the legal profession and noted the tremendous benefits of improving gender equality. ABA President Hilarie Bass said even though women have already made great strides, more needs to be done.

"Empowering women and girls is not only the right thing to do, it is also the smart thing to do. Doing so has a multiplier effect on society, with the potential to transform the global economy. Recent studies confirm the enormous potential economic impact of closing the gender gap," Bass said. "For example, the McKinsey Global Institute recently reported that $12 trillion could be added to the global economy by 2025 by advancing women’s equality." 

North of the border, a Canadian Bar Association used International Women’s Day to promote a forum aimed at addressing women’s issues. The Ontario Bar Association (OBA) encouraged lawyers to become more involved by offering free membership to its Women Lawyers Forum during the month of March.

"I don’t think anyone can deny the seismic shift happening for women today, and I’m really proud of the fact that the Women Lawyers Forum has been leading conversations about gender parity and equality in the profession for so many years," said OBA President Quinn Ross. "On International Women’s Day, I challenge all OBA members to get involved in women’s issues and join the OBA’s Women Lawyers Forum."  

OBA members can join the Women Lawyers Forum by visiting www.oba.org/wlf.