HOW CAN THE LEGAL SECTOR ‘ACCELERATE ACTION’? AN INTERSECTIONAL LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

The International Women’s Day theme for the 2025 campaign is ‘Accelerate Action’.

This article explores the advancement in women’s equality, originally through the lens of Simone De Beauvoir’s publication ‘The Second Sex’, and now further expanded through an intersectional approach. My academic background in English and Philosophy introduced me to feminist thinkers like Virginia Woolf, Simone De Beauvoir, and Bell Hooks, voices that shed light on themes that still resonate today. These thinkers provide the blueprint for understanding not only gender, but also how race, class, and other identities impact women’s freedoms.

In ‘The Second Sex’, Simone de Beauvoir famously declared that “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” She emphasized how societal norms shape our understanding of gender identity. While the role of cultural experiences remains a powerful influence, it’s essential to recognise that the experience of womanhood is unique for each individual. Black, Brown, disabled, LGBTQ+, and migrant women often face compounded forms of discrimination, both in society and in the legal profession. Intersectionality is a term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, and adds another layer to the discourse on accelerating action when addressing gender equality by drawing on how various aspects of the individual’s identity interact.

Rather than viewing women’s equality through a single lens, intersectionality advances the legal sector’s contribution by recognising how overlapping systems of oppression including racism, ableism, xenophobia, and classism shape women’s freedoms and access to justice. This more nuanced and collaborative view supports a legal culture that doesn’t just uplift "women" as a monolith, but rather targets the barriers faced by the most marginalised.

While de Beauvoir calls for individuals to consciously define their own understanding of womanhood, real choice only exists when structures allow for it. For a working-class immigrant woman or a black female lawyer, those structures may be infiltrated with biases that limit such freedoms.

Accelerating Action Through Inclusive Reform

The 2025 International Women’s Day theme of ‘Accelerate Action’ promotes the need for continued and urgent action toward gender parity, which must be inclusive. The legal sector should adopt a holistic, intersectional strategy, incorporating inclusive hiring, culturally competent mentorship, and leadership development for underrepresented women.

Some concrete steps include:
- Implementing anti-racism and bias training that moves beyond gender
- Creating intersectional data audits to understand which groups of women are most excluded from senior roles
- Prioritising community-based legal outreach, particularly for women from minority backgrounds needing access to justice

When law firms commit to accelerating action, they can take steps to expand equity beyond the boardroom, recognising that legal access and representation look different for a single mother seeking asylum than for a corporate executive aiming for partner.

Pro Bono, Legal Aid, and Access to Justice for all Women

Access to justice is fundamental, but it must go beyond affordability. Language barriers, fear of legal systems, or past traumas disproportionately affect marginalised women. Legal Aid and Pro Bono services should be expanded and tailored with sensitivity, ensuring cultural and psychological accessibility.

Allyship and Sponsorship Must Be Diverse Too

Mentorship, leadership development, and sponsorship are also essential. However, women of colour, disabled women, and others often lack representation from relatable role models in senior leadership positions. Allyship should reflect this by encouraging cross-cultural mentorship and creating safe spaces for all identities. Male allies and leaders can support these interactions by advocating not just for "women" broadly, but also challenging the additional barriers faced by specific groups.

Conclusion: True Acceleration Is Collective and Inclusive

To genuinely ‘accelerate action’, the legal sector must go beyond a broad understanding of gender parity and embrace a person focused, intersectional approach to feminism. Equity means more than equal numbers, it also means equal opportunities to thrive, regardless of race, class, ability, or identity.

By embedding inclusive values into workplace policies, reforming laws that disproportionately impact marginalised women, and diversifying leadership positions, the legal sector can be a transformative force for lasting change.