The table provides information on the proportion of male and female lawyers working in different fields in a country between 2001 and 2016.
Overall, government jobs consistently accounted for the highest percentage of employment among both male and female lawyers throughout the period. Furthermore, the gap between genders was relatively small in 2001 but became more pronounced over time as by 2016, the percentage of women lawyers had overtaken that of men in the three main fields, including private, business, and government sectors.
In 2001, government sectors employed the largest share of lawyers for both genders, with 45% of males and 41% of females working in this field. The only area where the proportions of male and female lawyers were identical was business, at 14% each. Meanwhile, women slightly outnumbered men in private sectors (17% compared to 15%) and other fields (28% versus 26%).
By 2016, the percentage of female lawyers in private and business industries increased to 21% each, while the corresponding figures for men remained lower, at 19% and 14%, respectively. In the government sector, female lawyers witnessed a modest rise to 42%, overtaking men, whose share declined sharply to 38%. In contrast, the proportion of women working in other fields dropped by half, falling to 13%, while men experienced a slight increase, reaching 29%