b"PEOPLE| LEGAL SECTOR| 2022SUSTAINABILITY INSIGHTGENDER EQUALITYNational ContextThe 2022 global Index from the World Economic Forum ranks nations based on the gender equality of their economies, education, health and power. In the last 15 years, Australia has slipped 28 places to be ranked 43rd of the 1146 countries surveyed. This result is one place better than 2020 but a drop of four places in the last three years. Contrasting this performance with other indicators of social and economic progress indicates that women are not sharing equally in our prosperity and still do not enjoy the same resources, opportunities, rewards or security, as men.Addressing gender equality requires approaches to deal with longer-term systemic issues but also the agility to respond to short-term issues. COVID has changed work practices and conditions for large sections of the workforce. These changes create the risk of further magnifying historical inequalities but also the opportunities to address them.COVID-related job losses and reduced work hours have been highest in many female-dominated sectors, including accommodation, community and personal services, administrative and support services, childcare and hospitality. In law firms, the response to the COVID pandemic saw many law firms prepare for an uncertain future by reducing their workforce in administrative and management roles and their contracting staff.Most AusLSA members did not experience a reduction in revenue due to the COVID pandemic, and many became significantly busier. Increased work demand and difficulties in recruiting new employees are more significant pressures for women who carry a disproportionate share of unpaid care-related work and the accompanying stresses. The impact was amplified as they were forced to combine the challenges of working from home and supervising children while childcare and schooling were unavailable due to the implementation of numerous lockdowns.Conversely, greater work flexibility provided many male lawyers with the opportunities to contribute more equitably to family care and domestic tasks. Legal ContextUnderstanding the gender mix and pay gaps in law firms is essential and needs to be interpreted in the context of longer-term trends. The sixth National Profile of Solicitors Report, released in 2021, shows an increase in the number of young female lawyers is continuing, but so is the proportion of older male lawyers. Female lawyers make up two-thirds of those who have entered the profession since 2011, increasing the total balance of female lawyers from 46 per cent to 53 per cent during this time. This has created a bubble of younger female lawyers, with 41 per cent aged below 34 years compared to just 28 per cent of men. During the same period, the number of solicitors working past 65 years of age has increased by 59 per cent to seven per cent of the profession. Thirteen per cent of lawyers are men aged over 65 years compared with just two per cent being female lawyers over sixty-five. This suggests that women are leaving law firms earlier in life.An Australian Financial Review partnership survey released in June 2022 found that 48 per cent of the 295 new partners appointed at the nations larger law firms were women. GENDER POLICY GENDER POLICY PUBLISHED GENDER TARGETSYES NO IN DEV'T YES NO IN DEV'T YES NOPOLICY85% 10% 71% 26% 61%39%PUBLISHED5%3%20"