No Woman Left Behind – Bridging the AI Gender Divide in Law

As far as I’m concerned, one of life’s underrated pleasures is celebrating the successes of others. That’s why I want to share the news with you that two of my favourite people, Dana Denis Smith and Helen Burness, have spearheaded a very cool – and extremely important – project that came to fruition on Monday evening with the publication of a ground-breaking report, No Woman Left Behind – Bridging the AI Gender Divide in Law.

A collaborative endeavour between She Breaks the Law (Helen and Lucie Allen), Next 100 Years: Women In Law (Dana) and Linklaters (Shilpa Bhandarkar), the report presents the findings of a first-of-its-kind industry survey exploring how women in law perceive, and are currently experiencing, the impacts of AI. It sheds light on the opportunities AI presents and the barriers that still hinder gender equality in our profession.

The key findings set out in the report highlight the need for concerted action if women aren’t to be left behind by the AI revolution. Women clearly see the vast potential of this technology, with 77% of respondents acknowledging AI’s significant role in shaping the legal future; however, 31% feel only “somewhat informed” when it comes to how AI will impact their organisation – there is therefore still a clear need for law firms to communicate with greater clarity on this vitally important topic.

Despite the general enthusiasm towards AI, the report also reveals that there is still a significant degree of industry resistance out there, with 37% of participants reporting organisational hesitation in embracing AI. This reluctance, which is tied to perceived high costs and sceptical leadership, has a disproportionate impact on women, who often face additional barriers to upskilling due to caregiving responsibilities or leadership biases.

Then there’s the matter of gender bias within the tech itself, with AI-generated content often defaulting to male pronouns or casting women in less professional roles, thereby reflecting entrenched stereotypes in its outputs. As one respondent highlighted, “I recently heard of a female lawyer only being able to get the tone of an email right when she explicitly asked for it to be written as a man.”

One thing that really stands out is what we might term the inclusion imperative. Women overwhelmingly believe in their power to shape AI’s ethical and operational landscape; however, just 29% of respondents felt that the current AI adoption process was inclusive. Respondents emphasised the need for women’s voices in user testing, policymaking and ethical oversight.

The report contains a wealth of practical suggestions for women in law on how to get ‘AI-fit’. These include upskilling and collaborating, becoming more visible by taking leadership roles in AI initiatives and policy development, and seeking and offering mentorship to foster growth.?

Organisations will also find recommendations to help close the gender gap and ensure women are given an equitable stake in the AI revolution. I deem No Woman Left Behind to be essential reading for any firm that wants to do more than pay lip service to the notion of levelling the playing field for everyone.

In the official press release, Dana states:?

“The growing presence of AI in the profession is undeniably having a significant impact on women. While there are certainly valid concerns regarding its use, I encourage women to view it as an opportunity to help create a better working environment. A crucial aspect of this will be ensuring that female lawyers and business services professionals receive the training, time, and support needed to fully engage with this transformative technology. Integrating this into firms' and in-house teams' broader strategy for adopting innovative technologies will be key.”

Helen was kind enough to share some further details with me about the genesis of the report and her hopes in terms of the changes we might see:

“When we study history, we see that in every revolution so far, women have pretty much always lost out – we can’t let that happen again with AI, which is going to utterly transform so many aspects of the legal profession. This is why we decided to bring together the shared missions of Next Hundred Years and She Breaks the Law, both of which exist to create a more equal future for the next generation of women lawyers and support women in law on their change journeys.?

“We then partnered with Linklaters, a firm that is at the forefront of AI adoption and has a strong team of women to lead the charge to bring this project even further to life. The scale of the issue is so vast that we can only address it by collaborating to close the gaps that are already emerging. Our desired outcome? For women not to get left behind as they have been before and to have their seat at the table.”

“The report is a great starting point for women in law, with practical resources on how to embrace AI and steps every company and ally can take to ensure AI adoption supports equality rather than exacerbating the gap.

“Imagine if, for the first time in human history, we didn’t spend time trying to fix something that was biased towards men. Imagine if we started out on an equal footing from the outset. Imagine if we played that out for our daughters’ lives, for everyone’s lives, and looked back on not only the technological advances it clearly is going to offer but also the opportunity to start with greater equity across the board.?

“That’s why I just knew I had to be involved in this project, and I’m so glad with the progress to date. But we have work to do. We all do.”

Hear, hear!

In other news

Lewis Silkin to spearhead investigation into Greg Wallace’s conduct

It’s the news story that has dominated the headlines all week: every day seems to have brought fresh allegations of inappropriate sexual comments and inappropriate behaviour against Masterchef host Gregg Wallace, who has “stepped away” from the show while Banijay UK, the show’s production company, conducts an investigation into the presenter’s conduct. On Saturday, it was announced by BBC News that London law firm Lewis Silkin will lead said investigation.

“He tried to own you” – former Harrods director speaks out

Jon Brilliant, a former director who worked in Mohamen Al Fayed's private office for 18 months, has told BBC News about how the late entrepreneur plied him with envelopes full of cash to try to compromise and control him. Brilliant, was “horrified” when he first heard the allegations that Al Fayed had abused hundreds of women, also spoke about how Al Fayed deliberately created a culture of mutual distrust among the directors to help him escape scrutiny.

Ethics clash poses health risk, top law professor warns junior lawyers

As reported by Legal Cheek, UCL’s Professor Stephen Mayson has told junior lawyers that working for a law firm with conflicting ethical values could harm their health. Speaking at a webinar hosted by the UCL Centre for Ethics and Law, Professor Mayson described the alignment of moral values between law firms and their lawyers as “a key psychological issue”, warning that a misalignment can heighten wellbeing challenges, potentially leading to “serious health problems” for juniors.

Essential reading for legal innovators

This week, I was chuffed to be sent a copy of Catriona Wolfenden and Stuart Whittle’s new book, Innovation in Law Firms: Implementing Successful Projects. Packed full of thought-provoking insights, it’s an absolutely essential read for anyone thinking about implementing any kind of innovation project in a law firm.

Talking management with Ed Whittington

For our final podcast episode of the year, I chatted with top-100 law firm Moore Barlow’s managing partner, Ed Whittington. We covered lots of ground, including the difference between being a partner and a managing partner, the challenges of spearheading a law firm merger during a global pandemic, and his plans for post-MP life.

You can catch up here:

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I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition!

Kind regards,

Si Marshall

[email protected]