The table compares the proportion of male and female lawyers employed in four different sectors of a country in 2001 and 2016.
Overall, government positions accounted for the largest share of employment in both years, though their importance declined slightly. By contrast, business and private practice became more attractive, particularly for women, while the “others” category displayed opposite trends for the two genders.
In 2001, the government sector was dominant, engaging 45% of male lawyers and 41% of females. Fifteen years later, the figure for men had fallen significantly to 38%, whereas the female share edged up to 42%. The proportion of lawyers in private practice also grew moderately, from 15% to 19% among men and from 17% to 21% among women.
Business, which had been equally popular for both genders at 14% in 2001, remained unchanged for men but increased considerably for women, reaching 21% in 2016. In contrast, the “others” sector showed diverging movements: the percentage of males rose slightly from 26% to 29%, while the proportion of females dropped sharply from 28% to just 16%.
In summary, although government roles continued to employ the largest proportion of lawyers, the period witnessed a gradual shift towards private law and business, most notably among women.