Good morning,
Sheena Gurbakhash, President of Association of Women Lawyers (AWL),
Honourable guests,
Distinguished panellists and moderators,
Members of the Bar,
Ladies and gentlemen.
Introduction
1. On behalf of the Malaysian Bar, I bid all of you a warm welcome to our Women Lawyers Conference 2019. This is our second Women Lawyers Conference and it marks another successful collaboration between the Bar and AWL. I would like to thank AWL for their unwavering support. I would also like to record my appreciation to the panelists and moderators for their contribution to the event today.
2. I am particularly pleased to see Members of the Bar from both genders before me here. The sessions today which involve gender-related issues, time and technology management, toxic workspace and future career planning, with a particular focus on women lawyers, are not meant to be gender-exclusive. Rather, as male colleagues, we can listen, learn and provide input during the sessions which are going to take place. Audre Lorde, the 20th century American writer, feminist and civil rights activist once said,
"It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept & celebrate those differences."
3. The importance of recognising, accepting and celebrating the differences between men and women need not much introduction. For the sake of brevity, Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights" and the preamble to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) provides that "discrimination against women ... is an obstacle to the participation of women, on equal terms with men, in the political, social, economic and cultural life of their countries, hampers the growth of the prosperity of society and the family and makes more difficult the full development of the potentialities of women in the service of their countries and of humanity".
4. In the same year where we celebrated the appointment of our first female Chief Justice and the hallmark judgment delivered by Lady Hale on prorogation of the United Kingdom parliament, for the first time in the Bar's history, 54% of our Members are women.
5. Notwithstanding this record ratio, we still see that women are being overlooked or excluded from promotion and leadership pipelines.
6. A survey entitled "51 per cent! Is it a Level Playing Field?" conducted by AWL, found that 68% of legal assistants are women but only 42% stay on long enough to become partners, with a significant 41% of women lawyers confessing that having children had a high impact on their careers.1
7. In light of the above, we note that for lawyers aged 51 to 60, there are twice the amount of male lawyers than that of women lawyers, whereas for lawyers aged 60 and above, the ratio of male lawyers to women lawyers is 7 to 1.
8. In the past 5 years, we also note that on average, only 25% candidates for the Bar Council Election are women. In the same period, only an average of 22% Bar Council Members are women, which consists of office bearers, elected Council Members, State Bar Chairman and State Bar Representatives, totalling up to 38 Council Members. It means only 22% of the Bar's decision-makers are women.
9. These are signals of faulty pipelines. In the latest 2020/21 Bar Council Election, there are 10 women candidates, whereas there are 25 male candidates. We need to see more diversity and better representation of women in Council, and I strongly encourage those of you who can vote, to vote.
10. With more women lawyers coming into the legal profession -- for the record, we have twice the amount of female Members in age group below 30 as compared to male Members -- we hope that we will slowly but surely see more female senior partners and Council Members in the Bar in years to come. However, we must take the bull by its horns, in ensuring that this will occur.
11. It is therefore pertinent to remind ourselves of the problems faced by our women colleagues, such as sexual harassment, workplace discrimination and the unconscious bias against women for having to divide their time between family and work.
Sexual Harassment
12. A 2014 baseline survey conducted by AWL found that 31 percent of the respondents experienced "some sexual propositions and gender-based issues."2 This coincides with the recent International Bar Association (IBA) survey, which found one in three female lawyers has been sexually harassed.3
13. While the Bar adopted and circulated a Code of Practice on the Prevention and Eradication of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace in 2007, the 2014 AWL survey revealed that less than half of the respondents were aware of this code of practice.4
14. Against the backdrop of the "Me Too" Movement, the Bar reiterates that any form of sexual harassment is never acceptable. We want more victims to come forward, speak out and utilise our complaint mechanism. We treat any complaint of such sort seriously, and assure that action will be taken where necessary against such perpetrators.
15. We want to ensure lawyers and pupils are able to continue to provide quality services in a safe and healthy environment free from unwanted harassment and intimidation of a sexual nature.
16. The AWL survey also found that less than 40% of law firms have policies and mechanisms to address sexual harassment. We encourage employers to implement in-house mechanisms to prevent, handle and eradicate sexual harassment in the workplace.
17. The Bar notes that women's groups, including AWL, are pushing for the Sexual Harassment Bill to be tabled in Parliament.5 We stand ready to assist.
18. On that note, in our new Legal Profession Bill, which we hope to have tabled after finalisation with the Attorney General's Chamber (AGC), we have expressly specified sexual harassment as a form of professional misconduct. The inclusion of this provision is the result of women lawyers who have strongly and relentlessly pushed for it. This is a major development since the enactment of the current Legal Profession Act in 1976, and if the bill goes through, this added protection given to our women lawyers shall be shared by future generations of the Bar for years to come.
Gender Discrimination in Workplace
Ladies and Gentlemen,
19. Just by putting in place safeguards against sexual harassment alone, however, is not enough to address the various problems with the pipeline.
20. It was reported last month that there would not be any plan for the Human Resources Ministry to amend the Employment Act 1955 to take into account discrimination against pregnant job seekers.6 The Bar takes the position that workplace discrimination should be prohibited at all costs.
21. The Bar notes that in recent years, KL Bar has introduced a 'Diversity & Inclusion' module for chambering pupils to complete before they can be called to the Bar. KL Bar also managed to secure reserved parking for pregnant lawyers in Jalan Duta Courts Complex.7 This is a commendable step in curbing workplace and gender discrimination and it is hoped that we have similar initiatives in other states.
22. Vide AWL's findings, it was also suggested that male lawyers dominated high profile areas of practice in litigation such as civil, banking and criminal, whereas female lawyers were more dominant in conveyancing. I hope the suggestion of gender as a new legal practice area will offer more opportunities for women lawyers.
23. The Bar hopes that equal opportunities, equal pay and a more gender-inclusive workplace can be provided to female lawyers, that they be allowed to flourish in the areas of practice they are interested in.
Career Planning
24. While we continue to strive to eradicate discrimination and sexual harassment, we must nevertheless address the reasons why a greater number of women quit legal practice compared to male lawyers.8
25. The law is not an easy career choice for anyone and becoming a lawyer is not easy. It involves considerable investment of time, money and resources, and yet, after all that investment, we lose our female colleagues. We lose their talent, their knowledge, their experience and their expertise.
26. I leave it to someone better with numbers than me to put together a figure on how much collective knowledge we have lost to date.
27. We have to put a stop to this. To address our complex legal problems and social issues, we cannot afford to lose competent, committed legal professionals. We want a strong and diverse legal profession in this country.
Legal Technology
28. In this regard, it is hoped that the rapid development of technology tools, will be helpful in today's legal practice. Just two weeks ago, I was witness to a legal tech summit, where I saw the various ways in which legal tech has revolutionised the way we work. I certainly hope that the assistance of legal tech will reduce the burden placed on lawyers and that there will be more modes of assistance available to women lawyers who decide to stay in legal practice.
The Way Forward
29. We all know the problem. Women are expected, in ways that their male counterparts are not, to balance home and career commitments. As I am sure you will hear today, and may even have experienced personally, in many ways, society continues to have an expectation that it is the woman who cares for the home and the children, and it is the woman who will have to take time off for the sick child, and it is the woman who juggles two careers in one lifetime - the wife - mother - homemaker on the one hand, and the professional on the other.
30. It is time to stop pretending that the playing field is level. We must look for solutions so that we do not lose our fellow colleagues - so that we retain women in the profession, and hopefully, also make room for those who have left, to return.
31. In the past, the Bar had mentorship programme for different committees, in the hope that senior lawyers could guide our young lawyers in the early stage of their careers. We had encouraged young lawyers to get involved in developing the Bar in the direction that matters for them, and this is still the case now. The Bar is focused on looking after the welfare of all our members and their professional development, standards and growth. Talk to us, on issues facing your career, whether it's related to work, professional development, discrimination and hurdles placed on women lawyers to advance.
32. We would like to engage with our women lawyers, our young lawyers, and particularly the intersection of young women lawyers, in seeking to stop such practitioners from leaving legal practice for some other fields, whether it is due to gender-related issues or otherwise. Events such as this Conference today serve as a crucial engaging platform.
Conclusion
Ladies and Gentlemen,
33. We cannot hope in one conference, or in one day to resolve the issues that affect women in the profession or women professionals. Equal pay; sexual harassment; gender bias whether conscious or unconscious; work-life balance; and equal opportunity, are just some of the few things that come to mind. These are big issues, some of which are systemic and will take time to address and redress -- for these the Bar will continue to do its utmost to achieve and promote gender equality. Meanwhile, there are smaller issues, things that we can talk about, things that can be adopted at a personal level, to make a difference to you as a professional.
34. Allow me in closing, to thank the team from AWL who, over the years, have contributed to making a difference not just to female legal professionals, but who also pick up the mantle on many issues concerning the protection of women and child rights, and who are committed to addressing issues of concern.
35. Lastly, I would like to invite all of you to lend support to the Bar's "International Malaysia Law Conference" (IMLC), themed "Navigating the Present, Exploring the Future", which is to be held on 12-14 Aug 2020 in Kuala Lumpur. I hope that through the IMLC, we can address the concerns and hurdles legal practitioners face, with the determination to equip them for a rewarding future and to provide a vision for robust growth.
With that, I wish to you all a meaningful, productive and congenial conference.
Thank you.
Roger Chan Weng Keng
Vice-President
Malaysian Bar
1 "51pc of the Malaysian Bar are women so why won't they speak up?", Malay Mail, 13 Dec 2015.
2 "Sexual harassment a problem at M'sian Bar, but fear keeps lid on it", Malaysiakini, 28 Jun 2019.
3 "Third of Female Lawyers Have Been Sexually Harassed, Report Finds" ,Bloomberg, 15 May 2019.
4 "Sexual harassment a problem at M'sian Bar, but fear keeps lid on it", Malaysiakini, 28 Jun 2019.
5 "We Need a Sexual Harassment Act", Women's Aid Organisation, 17 Jul 2019.
6 "No laws to stop discrimination against pregnant job seekers", Free Malaysia Today (FMT), 16 Oct 2019.
7 "Waiting for a 'wetoo' moment", The Star Online, 25 Nov 2018.
8 "Gender equality is not alive and well in the legal profession", The Star Online, 27 June 2014.
1 "51pc of the Malaysian Bar are women so why won't they speak up?", Malay Mail, 13 Dec 2015.
2 "Sexual harassment a problem at M'sian Bar, but fear keeps lid on it", Malaysiakini, 28 Jun 2019.
3 "Third of Female Lawyers Have Been Sexually Harassed, Report Finds" ,Bloomberg, 15 May 2019.
4 "Sexual harassment a problem at M'sian Bar, but fear keeps lid on it", Malaysiakini, 28 Jun 2019.
5 "We Need a Sexual Harassment Act", Women's Aid Organisation, 17 Jul 2019.
6 "No laws to stop discrimination against pregnant job seekers", Free Malaysia Today (FMT), 16 Oct 2019.
7 "Waiting for a 'wetoo' moment", The Star Online, 25 Nov 2018.
8 "Gender equality is not alive and well in the legal profession", The Star Online, 27 June 2014.