Mother’s Day 2022: applauding the working mothers in the legal profession
Earlier this month a number of professionals used LinkedIn and other platforms to #breakthebias and call out the prejudices that they face around subjects such as childcare, breastfeeding, and parental burn-out.
As a way to honour the day, we’ve compiled a list of our favourite recent quotes from working Mothers in the legal profession.
Jessica Hampson, Owner & Director at CEL Solicitors
Jessica spoke out about her experience of unconscious bias as she made her way from London to Manchester for a business meeting. She wrote, “I wonder about all of the invisible bias that my male colleagues won’t be aware of as I arrive with a smile.” As a business owner, Jessica spoke about the extra stresses she has to deal with that she normally has to stay silent on. She discussed coping with sleep deprivation, arranging childcare, making sure her child had enough breast milk; all on top of the stress of owning and directing a company.
Image courtesy of Jessica Hampson via LinkedIn.
Sarah Evans, Partner at Constantine Law
Sarah spoke to us last month about a conversation she had with a boss when she was newly qualified and a single parent. She recalled getting into work at 9 am after dropping her eight-year-old son off at school and arriving to comments like “when is this going to end?” – an absurd notion whilst she was the sole caregiver to her son.
Sarah Evans, Employment Partner at Constantine Law @ The William James Recruitment office in Central Manchester.
Elizabeth Gibbison, Associate Solicitor at Irwin Mitchell
Elizabeth championed her firm for being one of the top 10 best places for women to work. She also used the opportunity to share a picture of her at work with her son in her arms saying “newsflash (?!) I can work and hold a baby all at the same time!” This breaks down the stereotypes of mothers having to always separate their professional careers from their role as a caregiver and dismantles the belief that a woman can’t both be a mother and at the top of her career.
Image & post courtesy of Elizabeth Gibbison via LinkedIn.
Lucy Greenwood, International Arbitrator
A tweet by Lucy Greenwood, International Arbitrator, recently went viral detailing the unconscious bias her daughter’s school exhibited when they made the assumption that it would be her responsibility to pick her daughter up over her father’s.
Tweet by Lucy Greenwood via Twitter.
To add another layer of bias, some responses to the tweet suggested that she should have asked the judge for leave to respond to the call - unconscious of the fact that she was the judge!
Working mothers should be respected both as parents and as professionals. This statement should go without saying, but biases against mothers and parents still go ahead unchecked in 2022.
As researched by Clyde & Co, the ‘motherhood penalty’ can also result in women with children receiving 45% lower earnings in the long-term compared to women without.
This plus a variety of reasons is why content like this is such a powerful tool for change. Speaking out and ending the silence about topics that people feel uncomfortable discussing in the workplace is a must. Ultimately, if we’re going to break down prejudice, it’s necessary for motherhood to become a normal part of the everyday work narrative.
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