Abstract
This article provides new insights into the intersection of gender and ethnic inequalities in the
solicitors’ profession. Using administrative records spanning the entire population of practising
solicitors in England and Wales we analyse structural changes over successive cohorts of solicitors
and identify four distinctive employment profiles: high street solicitors, city solicitors, corporate
fast track and in-house. We show how solicitors with single or multiple characteristics associated
with disadvantage are located in different employment profiles and how this changes over time.
Demonstrating originality and the value of an intersectional analysis, we find that while ethnic
stratification within solicitor careers decreases, stratification by gender remains constant. We find
that in a period of rapid expansion, minority ethnic men become much better integrated into the
most prestigious career profile in the profession – the corporate fast track – compared to white
women who are both earlier entrants to and numerically dominant in the profession.
solicitors’ profession. Using administrative records spanning the entire population of practising
solicitors in England and Wales we analyse structural changes over successive cohorts of solicitors
and identify four distinctive employment profiles: high street solicitors, city solicitors, corporate
fast track and in-house. We show how solicitors with single or multiple characteristics associated
with disadvantage are located in different employment profiles and how this changes over time.
Demonstrating originality and the value of an intersectional analysis, we find that while ethnic
stratification within solicitor careers decreases, stratification by gender remains constant. We find
that in a period of rapid expansion, minority ethnic men become much better integrated into the
most prestigious career profile in the profession – the corporate fast track – compared to white
women who are both earlier entrants to and numerically dominant in the profession.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Work, Employment and Society |
Publication status | Published - 2023 |