Gender inclusivity in the legal profession: career opportunities and workplace climate

Fiona Kay and Martine Rondeau

Chapter 19 in Research Handbook on the Sociology of the Professions, 2025, pp 288-305 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: In this chapter, we explore women's entry and advancement in the Quebec legal profession. The early part of the chapter documents women's growing representation and career advancement in Quebec's legal profession. We then ask whether the growing number of women in law, across areas of law and professional rank, indicates full integration into the profession. Using data derived from a unique mixed-methods study (20-year longitudinal survey, combined with 50 in-depth interviews), we explore issues of workplace climate and residual resistance to women in the profession. We argue that the term ‘chilly climate,’ first used by Hall and Sandler (1982) to describe women's experiences in higher education (Sandler et al., 1996) and later STEM professions (Cech et al., 2016; Seron et al., 2016), is also relevant to law, another traditionally male-dominated profession. Our analysis identifies several themes indicative of a chilly climate: women's exclusion from challenging work assignments due to the presence of a ‘boys’ club’; sexist comments and stereotypes; negative perceptions of working mothers; and sexual harassment. We also explore changes observed in workplace climates across women's careers and how women managed their work in these difficult environments. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the chilly climate's negative consequences for women's job satisfaction, career prospects, and retention and offers directions for future research.

Keywords: Legal profession; Gender; Chilly climate; Careers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035323074
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