IBA advances gender parity initiative with new global survey

The International Bar Association (IBA) has unveiled the second phase of its comprehensive “50:50 by 2030” initiative, which aims to tackle persistent gender disparity in leadership positions throughout the legal sector.

Working in partnership with LexisNexis‘ charitable foundation, the IBA’s Legal Policy and Research Unit is launching this next stage with a comprehensive global survey targeting female legal professionals across all practice areas.

The questionnaire is designed to gather insights about women’s professional experiences, including barriers to legal practice, factors prompting career exits, perspectives on diversity programs, menopausal impacts, and how family caregiving responsibilities affect career progression.

The project was championed by Almudena Arpón de Mendívil Aldama (PICTURED), the IBA’s recent past president from Spain, during her two-year leadership term. The initial phase produced 11 regional reports covering jurisdictions across five continents, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Nigeria, and Mexico. The program received recognition at the 2024 Women and Diversity in Law Awards hosted by this publication.

Upon completing her tenure as only the second female president in IBA history, Arpón de Mendívil endorsed a status report that compared findings and identified key themes and preliminary recommendations.

Participants can complete the confidential survey in multiple languages including English, Spanish, French, or Portuguese. A previous 2017 survey focusing on women in corporate law firms garnered over 6,000 responses.

To mark the launch, the IBA organized a complimentary webinar on March 7th, hosted by the IBA Legal Policy & Research Unit with support from the IBA Women Lawyers’ Committee and Diversity and Inclusion Council. The discussion examined women’s experiences in law, evaluating the effectiveness of current recruitment and retention initiatives and exploring additional necessary measures.

Current IBA president Jaime Carey underscored the importance of continuing his predecessor’s work on gender inequality in the legal field.