Female NZ lawyers increase dramatically

Source = NZLS website:

Women now hold 43% of practising certificates issued to New Zealand lawyers, according to the New Zealand Law Society.

Figures from the Society’s registry show that in mid-July 2010, 10,843 practising certificates had been issued. Of these, women held 4,707.

The dramatic increase in the number of women in the legal profession is shown by the fact that just 7% of practising certificates were held by women in 1980. This grew to 22% in 1990 and 34% in 1990.

The total number of New Zealand lawyers has also increased over the past few decades. In 1980 there were 4,016 practising certificates issued. This grew by 47% over the next decade to 5,900 in 1990, and then by a further 40% to 8,287 in 2000. In the past decade the number of practising certificates has grown by 31%.

The number of practising certificates issued to barristers is the other key area of growth. At present there are 1,495 practising certificates on issue to barristers. This has grown by 60% from 2000. The number of barristers grew by 251% in the decade from 1990 to 2000.