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Millicent Wild of 5 Essex Chambers describes her pupillage experience
Usually, sentences beginning like that end with a joke ranging from mildly inappropriate to unreservedly discriminatory. Instead of a crass joke, it is the start of me recounting my experiences as a female pupil at 5 Essex Chambers.
Deciding to pursue a career at the Bar came with a host of concerns and considerations. From the outset, I was acutely aware of the competitive and draining nature of acquiring pupillage. Troubled tales from friends who had spent two, three or four years tentatively waiting for January to come were all too visceral when my time came to apply. I was also apprehensive about entering a profession that had for centuries been dominated by men, with the first woman only being called to the Bar in 1922. It is perhaps no surprise that I was drawn to the chambers with the second most female KCs and third most female juniors.
As my first year as a member of chambers begins, I am at a stage in my career I wasn’t sure I’d reach when I started on the pathway to becoming a barrister.
I remember the fear of being trapped in a robing room conversation with an intimidating male barrister, attempting to strongarm me into an eleventh-hour deal. I was unsure how I’d fare in a testosterone-fuelled world. Thankfully, I’ve had, overall, a very pleasurable experience starting my career at the Bar. Growing up with a single mother left me no stranger to strong and empowered women. However, my mother’s generation had lacked the openness and inclusivity that I have benefited from. She would often tell me that she was advised to become a secretary; her defiant act was becoming a human resources consultant. Her stories of misogyny in the workplace were shocking, and on me expressing my astonishment, she would respond with a ‘yes, I suppose it was bad back then’.
One of the strikingly positive experiences I’ve had as a woman starting out at the Bar is how supportive both men and women have been in ensuring gender is not a barrier to career progression. I have been impressed and inspired by conversations with female colleagues who have balanced their careers alongside parenting and family responsibilities. I have never felt at a disadvantage to male peers I know who have completed pupillage. Whether that reflects my chambers, the area of law I practise in, or a wider shift across the profession to be more accommodating of the dual responsibilities women face at home and work, I cannot be sure.
Whatever the reason, I am conscious that this may not be reflective of the experience of other female practitioners at the Bar. I am prepared for the fact that I may experience some form of prejudice or gendered encounter in my professional career. But as someone who embarked upon this journey uncertain of how it might be impacted by being a woman, as someone who has always been proud to be a woman, I am reassured to start tenancy feeling so hopeful about the future.
Usually, sentences beginning like that end with a joke ranging from mildly inappropriate to unreservedly discriminatory. Instead of a crass joke, it is the start of me recounting my experiences as a female pupil at 5 Essex Chambers.
Deciding to pursue a career at the Bar came with a host of concerns and considerations. From the outset, I was acutely aware of the competitive and draining nature of acquiring pupillage. Troubled tales from friends who had spent two, three or four years tentatively waiting for January to come were all too visceral when my time came to apply. I was also apprehensive about entering a profession that had for centuries been dominated by men, with the first woman only being called to the Bar in 1922. It is perhaps no surprise that I was drawn to the chambers with the second most female KCs and third most female juniors.
As my first year as a member of chambers begins, I am at a stage in my career I wasn’t sure I’d reach when I started on the pathway to becoming a barrister.
I remember the fear of being trapped in a robing room conversation with an intimidating male barrister, attempting to strongarm me into an eleventh-hour deal. I was unsure how I’d fare in a testosterone-fuelled world. Thankfully, I’ve had, overall, a very pleasurable experience starting my career at the Bar. Growing up with a single mother left me no stranger to strong and empowered women. However, my mother’s generation had lacked the openness and inclusivity that I have benefited from. She would often tell me that she was advised to become a secretary; her defiant act was becoming a human resources consultant. Her stories of misogyny in the workplace were shocking, and on me expressing my astonishment, she would respond with a ‘yes, I suppose it was bad back then’.
One of the strikingly positive experiences I’ve had as a woman starting out at the Bar is how supportive both men and women have been in ensuring gender is not a barrier to career progression. I have been impressed and inspired by conversations with female colleagues who have balanced their careers alongside parenting and family responsibilities. I have never felt at a disadvantage to male peers I know who have completed pupillage. Whether that reflects my chambers, the area of law I practise in, or a wider shift across the profession to be more accommodating of the dual responsibilities women face at home and work, I cannot be sure.
Whatever the reason, I am conscious that this may not be reflective of the experience of other female practitioners at the Bar. I am prepared for the fact that I may experience some form of prejudice or gendered encounter in my professional career. But as someone who embarked upon this journey uncertain of how it might be impacted by being a woman, as someone who has always been proud to be a woman, I am reassured to start tenancy feeling so hopeful about the future.
Millicent Wild of 5 Essex Chambers describes her pupillage experience
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