The Glass Ceiling - Fact or Fiction? The Measure of Success in Law.

The phrase 'there is a glass ceiling' is something I hear from around the legal fraternity on a frequent basis, across many different legal sectors. Regardless of where you land on whether the phrase is real or not, in private legal practice, the perception remains real for women, particularly amongst women close to my own age.

I heard two comments recently that caused me to consider my own views on 'the glass ceiling': 

1.      "I must be the oldest senior associate in history"; and

2.      "If you aren't on the partner track by 40, you never will be".

I thought these comments to be interesting. The person who uttered the first comment is a mum and has a life outside the law involving another passion, yet obviously felt compelled to judge her own professional achievements with reference to her title. The second comment immediately brought to mind the issue of bias in the workplace in circumstances where I am 100% confident that was not the intention of the comment.

I have worked with, for and known many women who came to the law later in life, either due to having tried a different career first, delayed taking the plunge to pursue their passion or for family reasons. That doesn't include the countless and selfless women who put their own careers on hold for a period of time to devote to family, many on multiple occasions and for extended periods.

It made me wonder what impact the second comment would have on that cohort of women and whether they would then feel inspired to strive for success in the traditional way if confronted with it. Would it demotivate them or make them feel less valued?

Does their absence from the workplace or late entry create a automatic bias against them which results in a real or perceived glass ceiling, in that they perhaps ought not dare to dream or strive for a greater professional responsibility as they have 'left it too late'?

It causes me to visit the concept of success and what it actually means. Is success a title or achieving something by a particular age? Is success spreading yourself too thing so you can be all things to all people, at the risk of losing yourself and burning out?

I can't remove the real or perceived glass ceiling. But what I can do is recognise that we all have different strengths and bring different skills to law which contribute to a well-rounded team. I also recognise that if a glass ceiling culture is allowed to develop unchecked, it results in a lack of motivation and, for the most part, resignation. That is, resignation to unrealised dreams and opportunities.

The measure of success in private practice has, for as long as I can remember (which is at least the last 20 years of my working life), been whether an individual has become a partner of a firm. It is the aspiration of all young lawyers, certainly from my generation, to reach the top of the firm (even if they won't openly admit it for fear of failure).

However, I think the measure of success has to change and that younger generations are the key to this and how it can be demonstrated. With a change in the measure of success, the idea of a glass ceiling might just fade away to little more than a distant memory.

Success is many things. Success is driven by a push for positivity and challenging the norm – looking for opportunities and being receptive to them when they come knocking. Most successful women I know do not judge their success by a title, pay cheque or 'things', but with reference to their contribution, either to their own families, the workplace or society. 

Yes, the glass ceiling exists in private practice (in my opinion) whether you accept it as real or perceived. It is not a myth and there is a long way to go to changing the culture and bias that exists, including changing the preconceived views of those who utter the words 'glass ceiling'. However, I firmly believe you can smash through the glass, real or otherwise. You can do this by being the author of your own success. Work out what success means for you and how you measure it and take the opportunity to work on it every day.

For me, success is a fulfilling job, developing a team that knows we all have each other's back, but most importantly it is about being able to come home each day to my family and be present and having the time to look after myself so I can continue to be present for a long time yet. I work on these things every day and I am by no means perfect. There are days where it is a struggle to balance expectations and you don't feel like a success. However, I never give up and I am constantly looking for opportunities. That is what I want to instil in the next generation – don't measure success by your predecessor's standards or some TV show that glamourizes the law, work out your own measure of success and live a life that fulfils you and keeps you motivated and happy.