Bar Council data published in 2020 showed discrepancies in earnings between men and women at the Bar. Therefore in 2021 the Bar Council undertook additional analysis, which shows the trends in Barristers’ earnings over the last 20 years, along with the differences in average earnings by practice area. 

The data shows that in general there has been an increase in average gross fee income for both women and men at the Bar. However, the gap between men and women’s average income has widened over the last 20 years, with female Barristers earning on average 34% less than male Barristers.

An example of this is in the area of Commercial and Financial Services. Whilst there has been an increase in average earnings, the gap between the income of male and female barristers has increased over the last 20 years, from women earning 49% less than men in 2000, to 57% less in 2020. In the area of Employment, the gap has increased from 8% in 2000 to 16% in 2020.

However, in practice areas that are dominated by women Barristers - such as Family (children) where 59% of Barristers are female - they earn more than men but the gap has lessened to 4% in 2020, down from 21% in 2000. Similarly, in Family (Other), where there are also more female barristers, they earned 43% less than men in 2000, compared to 19% less in 2020 - so men’s income has increased faster than women’s.

Overall, there has been an increase in the number of female barristers across all practice areas - from 8,382 in 2000 to 12,504 in 2020 - whilst in the same period the number of male barristers across all practice areas has decreased - from 26,833 in 2000 to 25,809 in 2020. Nonetheless, although female representation at the Bar has expanded, the gap between men and women is getting wider. The Bar Council therefore poses the question - if half of all new pupils for more than 20 years have been women, why are so many leaving the Bar and why do men continue to out-earn women?

Bar Council Chair Mark Fenhalls KC said:

“This year’s data analysis shows there remains a long way to go to close the earnings gap, particularly in the higher-earning practice areas. Through the Bar Council’s Modernising the Bar programme, we are focused on evidence-based and practical actions to tackle inequalities at the bar.”