News feature
Women in Criminal Law: a voice for women working in criminal justice
The newly launched organisation Women in Criminal law (WICL) aims to inform, encourage and support women working in the criminal justice sector.
About the author
Katy Thorne QC is founder of Women in Criminal Law.
This year, we are celebrating the centenary of the first women to get the vote; next year, we will celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the first women to become lawyers. But while we look back and celebrate their success, we know that, in 2018, women lawyers still struggle to achieve success on an equal footing to men.
Do we have to be patient for another 50 years before we achieve equality, as Lord Sumption suggested in an Evening Standard interview in 2015? I suspect that the members of CILEx are not that patient. Women want to succeed in the law in exactly the same way as men do, and we are not prepared to just accept the inequality.
The criminal legal world can be a particular challenge. It can be a very macho arena, and the practicalities can be tough for women: whether its struggling with heavy papers when pregnant; braving late-night police stations; or dealing with aggressive clients. But women are just as good at this job as men, and we want the same opportunities.
WICL was created after I met two brilliant young paralegals, Chloe and Jess, working in a criminal law firm. I wanted to help them, and others, overcome the barriers - both visible and invisible - to women succeeding in criminal law.
So, WICL is an organisation which supports and empowers women to achieve success in the criminal legal world; to have the confidence and inspiration to put themselves forward - in any role or at any pay grade - and; to have an equal chance of succeeding. WICL wants to bring together women who work in the criminal law: both prosecution and defence, and both private and publicly funded. The membership includes lawyers and non-lawyers, Chartered Legal Executives and barristers, paralegals and clerks, solicitors and judges, the employed and self-employed. WICL will seek to help them by training, by networking, and by mentoring, and most of all by celebrating the contribution women bring to the criminal justice system.
Our launch celebration was a huge success. Hosted at the Law Society in Chancery Lane, London, on 1 March, hundreds of women - and men - braved the cold spell, nicknamed ‘the Beast from the East’, and travelled from all over the country to get involved.
We are now announcing the first series of events on our website, including a workshop for those who have signed up to our mentoring scheme, a career progression training session, and our AGM. We would love CILEx members to join in!
- To join WICL, visit: https://womenincrimlaw.wixsite.com/wicl/join-in, and follow WICL on Twitter: @womenincrimlaw