“As a woman (you have to) really fight it out, you have to struggle your way through (…) There is no doubt that you have to work twice as hard as men to reach some kind of level of your male colleagues,” Supreme Court Justice Indu Malhotra said at a discussion on ‘Women in the Legal Profession in India’ hosted by the University of Oxford and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy on October 4 in New Delhi.
Justice Indu Malhotra discussed three things which she felt women lawyers face which makes it specifically difficult for them to grow in the legal world:
- FAMILY: Women find it hard to balance work family time constraints, especially when rearing a family.
- NETWORKING: Women find it difficult to network in the new contours of the legal profession.
- LOBBYING: Women find it difficult to lobby for political positions in the legal world such as Additional Solicitor General.
Supreme Court Justice AK Sikri pointed out how the enrollment of girl students in law schools has increased tremendously to the extent that in many cases the number of girls outnumbers boys. He added that in many cases they are also doing better in merit than boys, just as is the case of girls outperforming boys in the CBSE and ICSE exams.
But Justice Sikri importantly points out that only recognizing the merit isn’t enough if they aren’t given their legitimate due that draws from that merit. He adds that at the level of the Supreme Court and High Court, a collegium system consisting of the senior most judiciary is the basis for choosing future appointments, so then it is these people that form an important part of the decision making process in these kind of matters.
Louise Richardson, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, talked about the rich connection the University of Oxford has with India and women in law. She narrated a case every Indian should be proud of, Cornelia Sorabji, an Indian who was the first woman to get a Bachelor in Civil Law degree from the University of Oxford apart from various other firsts to her name.
Madhavi Goradia Divan, a senior Advocate and Supreme Court lawyer, says that tenacity is one of the biggest assets a woman should have in the legal world. She inspiringly adds that she never saw herself as a women lawyer; only a lawyer.
Lavanya Rajamani talked about a study done which stated that the difference between the amount of housework done by women and men is the largest in India, nearly seven times. So when it comes to balancing family life and work this is a big issue. She emphasizes that women need to focus on productivity, competence, their intellectual capabilities and academic rigour. She also narrated how in Japan when she was teaching at a University, she was a sort of curiosity because she was the only female faculty in the entire law department. She adds that how in some Universities in India, not a single one of their full professors in the legal department are women.
Arvind Datar, a senior advocate in the Supreme Court, talked about the history of the term legal practitioner in India. The Legal Practitioners Act 1879 only provided for men to be enrolled (even though it mentioned ‘person’ women were not included in this), and it wasn’t only until 1923 that The Legal Practitioners (Women) Act, 1923 stopped discrimination on the basis of gender. Arvind Datar called from affirmative action; at the same time the panelists clearly pointed out the difference between being affirmative and showing tokenism or favouritism.
Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy recently did an empirical study of the gender balance in the lower judiciary in India. The percentage of female judges in the lower judiciary is 27.6%. The gender imbalance drastically increases higher up in the judiciary.
Note: Majorly compiled and paraphrased from hand written notes taken during the interaction.
Featured Picture Credit: Pulakit Singh