leadership would make female lawyers continue to suffer from institutional and structural challenges due to marginalization.
“Women are vastly under-represented in the rank of SAN, with a dismal ratio of 26:1. This also applies to leadership positions in the executive committee of NBA branches, particularly chair and secretaries. Borno State is the exception, as it has a sitting female chair of a branch, the first in the state,” the report added.
The report also noted that younger female lawyers were more likely to face sexual harassment and gender-based intimidation at work.
The IAWL recommended formal mentoring programmes and workshops to aid career growth. It also recommended that men join the quest for gender equality to achieve systemic and effective change.
The report also recommended creating and enforcing policies that protect women lawyers and facilitate the ascent, promotion and recognition of female lawyers, and adequate support for research and data gathering on women’s representation at the bar, which it said would facilitate evidence-based interventions.
Supportive family structures were also described as critical to women’s ascent in the legal profession, as the report identified balancing marital responsibilities and work demands as one of the cultural challenges female lawyers face.
In 2022, The ICIR reported that marriage affected the rise of female judges in Nigeria.
Despite the many achievements of female judges in Nigeria, a major stumbling block in attaining leadership positions in the judiciary is the issue of state as it relates to Nigerian women upon marriage.
