Top 5 Powerful Women Lawyers: Breaking the Glass Ceiling of the Gentlemen's Club
The Gentlemen's Club:-
The Legal sphere in India has always been part of the gentlemen's club. Throughout India's history, Law has been predominantly the sphere of men. It was considered as the educated men's or the Gentleman's club or sphere. The path of both powerful women lawyers and women doctors in India had been similar. But unlike the latter, powerful women lawyers did not have an easy way out. Powerful women lawyers in India had to fight their way against the Indian mindset that barred women from practicing law. Women as it is well-known are associated with nurturing and care giving qualities. As a result of which women doctors had entered the profession at a later stage since the medical profession was gradually regarded as a care giving profession. But with regards to Law, the Indian society could not attach such values that revolved around the qualities of care and nurture. Nevertheless, over the years the mindset of the professionals in India has changed. There emerged many legal firms that started to enlist many eligible female lawyers with merit. Small startups like Legalyy.com and others that have struggled hard to become leading law firms understand the difficulties that women face in the legal profession. Subsequently, with the support base of women lawyers strengthening likewise, they are increasingly entering the legal profession. There have been several accounts of Powerful women lawyers with regards to their experience as practitioners. Justice Indu Malhotra talks of the greater predominance of women in the law over the years. She further emphasizes that women as professionals are no longer like a floating entity that moves away from their profession post marriage. She stands for equality although providing greater importance to merit over anything else.
Breaking the glass ceiling: Top 5 Powerful Women Lawyers in India:-
There have been instances in the past where women have been able to break the glass ceiling in the legal field. The essential belief is that law and order reforms society and brings equality in every sphere. Thereby, the sphere of law should accommodate all irrespective of gender, religion, caste, and creed.
Below there is a list of the top 5 Powerful Women Lawyers in India who have broken all records of gender barriers in the field of Law:-
1.Justice Indu Malhotra:-
Indu Malhotra was born in Bangalore in 1956. She joined the legal profession in the year 1983 when she registered under the Bar Council of Delhi. She specializes in the law of arbitration and has acted as an arbitrator many times both domestically and internationally. On National Law Day she received the Mukesh Goswami Memorial Prize. She qualifies as an Advocate on Record in the Supreme Court. In 2007 she got promoted as the Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court. She served the legal council for 30 years and got appointed as the judge of the Supreme Court.
2.Deepsika Singh Rajawat:-
Deepsika Singh Rajawat reached fame in the Kathua rape case. She is an advocate in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. She completed her Law degree from the National Law University in Jodhpur. Besides her profession as an advocate, she is also a human rights activist. She achieved the Charkha Fellowship and Ladli Award for her contributions to the field of Juvenile Justice. She is one of the Powerful Women Lawyers in India.
3.Menaka Guruswamy:-
Menaka Guruswamy was a BR Ambedkar Research Scholar and Lecturer at Columbia Law School. She is the Senior Advocate practicing at the Supreme Court of India. She handled some landmark cases before the Supreme Court that included cases related to Section 377, the Bureaucratic Reforms Case, the Augusta Westland Bribery Case, and many others. She petitioned with other fellow lawyers in the year 2016 against the validity of section 377. She was also appointed as the Amicas Curie in the year 2012 in case of 1528 extrajudicial killings by the armed forces in Manipur. On behalf of her submissions, the Court ruled in her favor by stating that the use of excessive force in custody has to be reviewed.
4.Indira Jaising:-
Indira Jaising is an Indian Lawyer who works for Human Rights causes. In the year 2018, Indira Jaising ranked 20th in the list of top 50 Greatest Leaders of the World in the Fortune Magazine. She along with other fellow Lawyers are a part of an NGO named Lawyer's Collective. Indira Jaising dealt with numerous cases related to women. She argued in the Mary Roy Case that eventually led to equal inheritance rights to Syrian-Christian women. She also challenged the discriminatory clauses in the Indian Divorce Act. Her actions likewise led to popular reforms in the society.
5.Indira Banerjee:-
Indira Banerjee is the 3rd female Judge of the Supreme Court of India. Born on 24th September 1957, she completed her schooling at Loreto House in Kolkata. In the year 1985, she registered as an advocate and started practicing law in the Calcutta High Court. She became the Chief Justice of Madras High Court in the year 2017. She is also the second woman to head the Chartered High Court.
Breaking the glass ceiling of the Gentlemen's Club:-
Many intellectuals believe that the glass ceiling is not high above but is somewhere between. This implies that the system itself needs major reforms if gender equality has to be achieved. It highlights the reality that hurdles are present within the system and in between. Advocate Ritu Bhalla views the issue at hand differently. According to her, there are personal prejudices present against powerful women lawyers in India besides institutional biases. For example, there are many instances where women lawyers have faced rejections and gender-based prejudices from their clients. Advocate Ritu Bhalla calls this bias the glass canopy. The positive part is that the glass canopy can be easily exited, unlike the glass ceiling that is difficult to break. The hurdle lies in the mindsets of these women too. To clarify it better, there are many able women lawyers and paralegals who work hard in their briefs but do not plan their careers higher up as judges. Many of them are bound by family obligations.
The real problem lies in the fact that the institutions must reform inorder to truly shatter the glass ceiling. A gender-equal judiciary looks more representative and it is a healthy sign for the governance of the State.
Following are the most basic ways to alter the gender-based biases present within the judiciary:-
The members of the institution have to work together to alter the persistent prejudices.
Recognize the work-family balance of female legal professionals. Identify the source of gender-based discrimination.
Create awareness against any such discrimination.
To end with a better note, in contemporary times more and more women Lawyers get hired by Law Firms and Companies alike. In the year 2015, 51 out of 107 women lawyers got hired by the Law Firms in India. Companies today want a diverse workforce to make equality part of their business motto. Therefore, an increasing number of powerful women lawyers are getting a strong financial foothold with large numbers of Law Firms and Companies recognizing their work experiences and thereby, incorporating them into their business.