Gender, Choice and Commitment

Review for the reissue:

"When it first appeared in 1998, Gender, Choice and Commitment offered a groundbreaking analysis of the reasons why and the mechanisms by which women remained marginalised in the solicitors' profession. Twenty-five years later, although women now make up the majority of solicitors in England and Wales, and law graduates from racialised and working class backgrounds have entered the profession in increasing numbers, similar mechanisms of class, race and gender exclusion continue to operate. The reissue of the book provides a timely reminder of the deep structures of social hierarchy in the legal profession, which may be reconfigured in the face of economic and social change but nevertheless persist. And it once more alerts us to the discursive justifications which locate the uneven distribution of professional career opportunities and rewards in individual 'deficits' of aspiration and application rather than in the professional field itself."

Professor Rosemary Hunter KC (Hon), FAcSS, Kent Law School, UK

Reviews for the original publication:

'If the status of woman solicitors is to be improved, the profession must not shirk from recognising how difficult the task is and how radical reforms must be. Anyone who is serious about taking on such a task must read this book if they are to have a clear picture of the experiences of women solicitors...' - Law Society Gazette

'...a tour de force, seemingly weaving economic theory, feminist theory, the sociology of professions, others' findings, and their own data into a powerful argument powerfully presented...it is the most comprehensive, persuasive, and important contribution to the expanding literature on woman and the legal profession that I have read...anyone...who has not read this book has not done their homework.' - Journal of Law and Society

'...thorough, detailed and persuasive...makes an important contribution to our understanding of some of the constraints facing women developing careers as solicitors in large, commercially orientated, law firms.' - Work, Employment and Society

'...a sophisticated analysis that advances our understanding of women's career patterns and the legal profession itself in important ways...an important contribution to understanding the gendered nature of the legal profession, women's entry into the professions as a whole, and the persistence of women's subordination more generally.' - Law and Politics Book Review