Macfarlanes has expressed disappointment with itself after failing to make up any female partners.

The firm has promoted a healthy six lawyers to the partnership but none of them is, technically, a woman. Senior partner Charlie Martin tackled the issue head-on when announcing the results of the firm's partnership process this week. Sounding remarkably like he had just walked into a bad house party, he said it was a "large group by historic standards, but one that is uncharacteristically and disappointingly lacking in women”.

    The Macfarlanes Partners Dining Room, yesterday

After a men-only round in 2012, Macfarlanes made inroads into diversifying its partnership. Half the promotions in 2013 went to women and at least a third in subsequent years. But despite its efforts, staff taking the RollOnFriday 2016 survey said there was still "noticeably very poor diversity at the top". According to Macfarlanes' website, it has 13 female partners compared to 70 male partners. It means that when the six new partners are added in May,  women will comprise just under 15% of the partnership, less than half the estimated 31% average across UK firms.

One Macfarlanes associate said that "as a woman I feel like I have more chance of sprouting wings or being killed by a psychopath" than becoming a partner. Although it is certainly not the only firm struggling: of the ten partners promoted at Slaughter and May this year, only one is a woman.

Martin said that “on a more positive note", four of Macfarlanes new partners trained at the firm, which he said was "a further vindication of our policy of nurturing home grown talent".

Meanwhile, Mishcon has announced that it is making up six lawyers this year, four of whom are women.
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Comments

Anonymous 15 April 16 09:31

Latest news in from Syria: ISIS is disappointed that there aren't more opportunities for promotion amongst LGBT people, other faiths and women in its ranks, expresses frustration that despite its best efforts and any number of policies, the diversity is still uncharacteristically and disappointingly lacking.

It reminds me of that quote from Ruby in Cold Mountain: 'Every piece of this is man's bullshit. They call this war "a cloud over the land" but they made the weather and then they stand in the rain and say "Shit, it's rainin'!" ' Quite so.

Anonymous 15 April 16 10:48

I work in a firm with an all male partnership. Following a recent round of promotions the partnership is all male and all the associates are female. Nice clean split, great for morale. I'd be delighted with 15% of partners being female...

Anonymous 19 April 16 10:31

Although doubtless it's good news for those promoted, who have worked hard and achieved partnership - rather than finding (as increasingly happens) that their efforts are in vain because they are "the wrong demographic..."