International Women's Day 2026: From Trainees to Leaders in Law

International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress, but also to look ahead.

Last year, we shared an interview with our Directors, Emma Thomson and Lindsay Hare, on their journeys into leadership and experiences as women in law. This year, we’re turning the focus to the next generation.

The legal profession has changed. More women than ever are starting traineeships in Scotland. But numbers alone don’t tell the full story.

We spoke to four of our trainee solicitors, Lile Martin, Sophie McGuinness, Anisah Qureshi, and Ailie Brown about why they chose law, the challenges they still see, and what needs to happen next.

Their answers are honest, thoughtful, and hopeful. They show how far we’ve come, and why there is still work to do.

Q4: Do you think there are any old-fashioned or traditional ideas across the industry lingering on?

AB: One thing I’ve noticed is when we’re appearing at Court, or when we’re joining a virtual Court appearance – the default greeting to the Sheriff is “M’Lord”, which is obviously assuming you’ll be speaking to a man.

But there are more female Sheriffs now so a lot of the time it’s a woman. You end up seeing some of the older male solicitors going, “Oh, sorry – I mean, “M’Lady!”.

With more women coming into the industry, that shouldn’t be the default – it shouldn’t be the default for me. Hopefully by the time I’m later in my career, it will be more 50/50. 

AQ: Although there’s more women coming into it, it can still seem quite male-dominated. A lot of senior roles – Sheriffs and things. I hope that young women can feel they’re welcomed into the profession.

There is wider access now, but there’s still opportunities that come from personal connections and who you know, rather than your intelligence or what you know. So for young women who might come from a family where they don’t have established networks, that can feel like an extra barrier they have to overcome.

We need to continue to challenge that idea, the ‘traditional’ pathway. You don’t need to enter the legal profession through people you know.

When I was at uni for instance, there were times where I felt imposter syndrome because I didn’t have family who were high up lawyers. There was an extra step. I think it’s important to continue with widening access because the legal industry also benefits from that – the importance of reflecting all these different experiences and perspectives. And letting people who don’t come from the posher schools or families that you can do this. You’re more than capable of entering that pathway. Law is seen as quite an established profession – so it’s important for young women to know that they’re more than capable.

Even though you’re not at the same starting point as others – it’s not about that. It’s about your skills, your determination. You can do this. Don’t feel intimidated by the profession because it can be that way already – if you’re doing court work or you’re speaking to Advocates or Sheriffs for example. It can feel a bit overwhelming.

SM: A lot of people on my course, they all had connections or relatives. So, they were clued up on training contracts or summer placements that I just wasn’t aware of until later on when everyone became aware of them.

I remember in Freshers week – we were only told about the diploma in one seminar. Then it wasn’t mentioned again until our fourth year. So, you had this huge amount of time where opportunities passed and the deadlines are too late – but obviously people who have family in the law profession, they were aware of these things.

But I’ve always had positive experiences from people in a senior position. I think where I get treated differently is the fact that I’m a younger female solicitor and early in my career. Sometimes you do feel like you’re not taken as seriously as say, an older male colleague.

Maybe more so with clients – but there still seems to be an ‘authority’ attached to older men in the profession – although it could purely be because I’m early on in my career. Other than that, I’ve had overwhelmingly positive experiences.

AQ: All of the Sheriffs are really nice! But sometimes you hear a story that’s negative where you’re treated differently to your male counterparts. I’ve heard of colleague’s experiences with male clients who were rude, or even that they requested to speak to a male solicitor.

You’re not ‘picked on’ because you’re a woman, but you hear of things happening. The odd time you’re treated differently. But we’ve all made it – we’re in the same place. You shouldn’t be treated differently.

LM: I think the narrative that women who decide to have children then can’t be in senior, or managerial/Director roles is very outdated in the legal industry.

I think statistically in the past, women have “fallen behind” by having those stereotypical caring responsibilities because they decided to have kids.
With that being said, Gildeas does very well at having a senior team that’s more representative of an equal split of genders. It’s very equal in terms of male and female solicitors and Directors. Gildeas does a great job of having that representation.

It’s great that the choice to have a family hasn’t been a restriction on women here. But across the profession in general, that idea that women who choose to have a family won’t make it to more senior roles.

AB: It’s been amazing to have that pathway shown to us by [Gildeas Directors, Emma Thomson and Lindsay Hare, and Senior Solicitor, Kyanna White]. Kyanna, Emma and Lindsay are great – I feel like I could go to them with anything, and I’d hope others can feel the same.

Q5: The theme for International Women’s Day this year is ‘Give to Gain’, emphasising how powerful support can be.

With the aim of continuing progress for women in law, are there any support mechanisms you would you like to see?

LM: Continuing to create those clear pathways and continuing to remove barriers to progression. So that could look like putting in reasonable adjustments where necessary for issues that impact women – for example things like the menopause, or endometriosis.

And things like continue to promote inclusive workplace cultures.

AB: Definitely the flexibility over the last few years has helped in being able to balance having both a family and a career. For instance, I plan on doing both.

We should be able to have that option. It shouldn’t stop you from progressing in your career just because you’re a woman.

So I’d like to see things like that continue, for example introducing more flexibility or time off for things like periods or the menopause. I’ve seen that recognised in places like Scandinavian countries.

SM: A big one is guidance on how to progress. Speaking from the trainee perspective, there’s so much information given to you throughout university on how to get through your diploma, how to get a traineeship, etc. Then you have development and regular reviews.

But in terms of progression once you qualify, things you could do to stand out, or how to get to Partner, Associate, or Director level – that would be helpful to have guidance on how to progress. Like the things you can do that might be a bit more niche, or above the normal standard to get you where you want to be. The knowledge I have is only what I’ve experienced – other than doing my job, I don’t know what else I should be doing to make sure I’m not plateauing.

Obviously, Emma and Lindsay have been successful so we’re lucky that we can ask them. But if they weren’t here, I don’t really know where we would look. I don’t know where we’d get those resources. That’s a barrier I think to progression.

AQ: That theme – Give to Gain – is really important. Particularly for those who might not see that they have a pathway into the profession. Showing those that don’t have those networks or connections to get into the legal industry – it shows that they can be supported, and it creates a more inclusive environment for them. So I’d like to be able to see more of those initiatives.

The Law Society have a project called the Street Law programme I was involved with when I was at uni. It’s a widening access programme – you visit schools and talk to kids who are interested in pursuing law as a career. They gave us topics, like contract law for example – and we’d visit a class, they’d ask us questions. Things like that – mentor programmes are really important. So seeing someone similar to you who’s established a career in it, it’s really inspiring to be able to see that. It plants those seeds and nurtures it because they might not have thought before that they could do it

I was speaking about this with a colleague – when you lodge something with the Court and you have to write ‘Dear Sirs’.

That’s a big topic right now.

But the Law Society have put guidance out to say ‘Good Morning’ or ‘Good Afternoon’ is acceptable now. But – that’s only a recent change.

It’s getting rid of that idea that we’re limited to one role. You want to feel like we get the same opportunities. We shouldn’t be limited just because we’re women. Seeing more women Advocates, even on Court rolls – just being able to access all those areas and opportunities.

Hopefully that’s something that’s going to change in the future with my generation, or the next generation. I’d love to see that we can pursue those senior roles and have the next generation see that.

Conclusion

There’s a clear message running through every answer.

Access is improving and representation is growing. But progression, visibility, and support are still fundamental.

For our trainees, success doesn’t just look like getting a foot in the door. Staying, growing and leading is what it’s all about.

Their goals? Making sure the next generation can see a place for themselves in the profession.

This International Women’s Day, the theme is ‘Give to Gain’. Their stories show exactly why this theme is more relevant than ever. When women are supported, the whole profession benefits.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This interview was compiled by Samantha Upton, Marketing Manager.