The latest reports from City law firms show that there has been little progress in narrowing the gender pay gap.

In March 2021 the Bar Council wrote to the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and the Bar Tribunal and Adjudication Service (BTAS) to express their concerns about the handling of cases of sexual harassment among barristers.

The government’s gender pay gap reporting service may be deferred for a second year running, which is likely to undermine decades of work to close the gender pay gap in the UK. Concerns have been raised about the time it will take to get reporting back up and running, by which time it could be noted that the government has failed to commit to change in this area.

In the first penalty of its kind, Paris authorities have received a historic €90,000 fine for recruiting too many women to executive roles. In 2018, contrary to French law mandating “gender parity” in public appointments, authorities awarded almost 70% of roles to women.

BAME appointments to the boards of some of the largest UK companies have stalled in 2020, while board gender parity has significantly progressed.