Gendered practice in the provincial law firm: pay, progression and parenthood

Abstract

Over the last thirty years there has been a dramatic diversification of the legal services sector; a significant number of women have joined the workforce. Feminist theorists and legal scholars have sought to understand the 'feminisation' of the profession and the paradoxical processes of gender stratification and gender segmentation. Despite the volume of scholaship in this field, there is a lack of empirical data on gender, the body and professional service firms (PSFs). This thesis addresses this gap, offering insight into the 'provincial PSF' and introducing the non-elite legal services worker into existing debates within femnist geography regarding gender and the body at work. This qualitative study is the first of its kind, comprising forty in-depth interviews with male and female legal professionals employed in the local labour markets (LLMs) of Bristol and Guildford. Data analysis uncovers striking gendered difference in aspirations and attitudes regarding pay, place, career progression and parenthood. Using a range of methodological tools, an interdisciplinary appeoach aims to flesh out a new feminist 'politics of the body' which can be used by feminist geographers to examine interactive services work.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Peter Sunley: orcid.org/0000-0003-4803-5299

ORCID for Suzanne Reimer: orcid.org/0000-0001-7325-4368

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