NBAWF Laments Discriminatory Practices Limiting Career Advancement, Equal Pay in Legal Profession

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

The Bwari Women Forum of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBAWF), on Friday lamented what it termed discriminatory practices limiting career advancement, equal pay and opportunities of the female folks in the legal profession.

NBAWF said that despite the rapid increase in the number of female Lawyers, women have remained under-represented in top legal positions, even as it added that, another barrier was insufficient mentoring opportunities.

In her keynote address at the 2024 NBA Bwari Women Forum Annual Summit, Justice Maryanne Annenih, stated that women in the legal profession are redefining the field of law and shaping the course of justice. A handful of female Lawyers, she said, have attained significant leadership roles and managerial positions including the Bar, the Bench and even in the Academia. “However, the barriers to attaining this height cannot be over stated.”

“This has led many women to abandon the legal profession. As we are well aware, that in environments such as ours, women are often expected to bear the bulk of domestic responsibilities, which may include caring for children, elderly parents, spouses and managing households. These duties coupled with the demands of a legal career, can sometimes be overwhelming.”

According to her, long hours, demanding clients and high-stake cases, can leave little time or energy for personal and family responsibilities.

Annenih, while speaking on the theme of the event, “Breaking the Barriers: Empowering Female Lawyers”, explained that the role of female Lawyers in the society cannot be overemphasised.

She said: “It is axiomatic that the legal profession in Nigeria has made significant strides by promoting the participation of women in every strata of the justice administration, and the entire land scape of the institutions of the rule of law in this nation. There is no doubt that in Nigeria, women have not been left out when it comes to high performance in the legal profession.

“It was recently noted in some institutions in the country, that the number of female law students outnumbered their male counterparts, which surprisingly marks a substantial shift from previous years.

“But, in times past, and even until recent times, women have had to struggle and work twice as hard to be seen, to be heard and respected, because the legal practice has been dominated by their male counterparts. I want to implore all female Lawyers to hold their heads up, because not only have we survived these challenges, we did not let them hinder our progress.”

She said, “it is obvious we are still making progress.To continue to ascend in this progressive manner, we must collectively take actions to break down perceived, real or imaginary barriers, and create an environment where we can achieve our highest potentials. It is imperative that we understand what these barriers are, and how they have hindered our growth and crippled our dreams of doing exploits.