The Research Framework

A review of the literature culminated in the identification of three theoretical frameworks which underpinned this research. These include:

● Theory of Social Constructionism (Elder–Vass, 2012)

● Role Congruity Theory against Female Leaders (Eagly & Karau, 2002)

● Preference Theory (Hakim, 2000; 2004).

2.9.1 Social Constructionism as a theoretical framework to explore the promotion process for law partnerships and the female's challenges. Social Constructionist theory was chosen as one of the guiding frameworks of this research. The choice was based on previous studies, articles and contemporary scholarships on the career advancement prospects within the legal profession in England, which featured the impact of the theory on female solicitors’ marginalisation (Ashley, 2010; Ashley & Empson, 2013; Bolton & Muzio, 2007; Collier, 2013; 2015; McGlynn, 2000; 2002; Sommerlad & Sanderson,1998).

Its relevance as a framework to this research lies in the fact that it explained firstly, the disparity between sex and gender and secondly, the ways in which individual perceptions, beliefs, behaviours, assumptions and expectations are being moulded within the micro and macro segments of the society, resulting in how they behave towards one another.

The dominance of the masculine culture and its impact on female leadership roles within the legal profession as found within the literature is also synonymous with the tenets of the Theory of Social Constructionism popularized by Elder-Vass (2012). The

118 adoption of Social Constructionist theory as a framework in this research provided a further understanding of the problems within the legal profession across England. The theory of Social Constructionism originated in the the18th century but was first developed into scholarly work in 1966 by Berger and Luckmann (1966) and further developed by David Elder-Vass of Loughborough University, UK, in his article "Towards a realist social constructionism" (2012). Proponents of the theory believe that social and interpersonal influences are the lens through which individuals who are members of a group view or create meaning (Marecek, Crawford & Pop, 2004). The Biological Determinist school upholds the notion that differences between the male and female sexes are biologically determined (Alcoff, 2006), while the Social Constructionist school of thought opines that this distinction is socially construed. Simon de Beauvoir (1972), a social constructionist theorist, argued that there is no distinction between a man and a woman from birth, but that the gender is determined by parental and societal influence. According to Simon de Beauvoir and others (Haslanger, 2003; Kimmel 2005; 2014), who shared this view society is responsible for the dichotomy of human beings into the two different sexes – man and woman – and into two distinct characteristics – feminism and masculinity (Beauvoir,1972). The theory explains some of the forms of unconscious biases within the society in general. This unconscious bias extends to other spheres of life including professional lives. The issue of gender-based biased continues to surface within the literature on gender studies in the legal profession.

As a framework, it guided the researcher's thought process about the constructions of masculinity and femininity within the structure and culture of law firms. It also created a deeper understanding of the trajectories of gender. The theory helped to explain how male and female genders are construed and the impact of such assumed constructions on the work-life balance and well-being of male and female solicitors (Collier, 2013; 2015).

The theory explained work-related pressures on male and female solicitors in a hypercompetitive legal profession. The theory further highlighted the hegemonic assumptions and expectations about masculinity which increases the pressure on

119 male practitioners and subsequently leads to a state of poor well-being (Collier, 2015; Kimmel, Hearn & Connell, 2005).

The theory of Social Constructionism also explained the assumed work-related constructs about females and created one of the frameworks within which this research was designed and undertaken.

2.9.2 Role Congruity theory of Prejudice towards Female Leaders as a theoretical framework in this research.

The literature review highlighted the occurrence of prejudices due to assumed role congruities as propagated by Eagly and Karau (2002).

The theory dwells on the prejudices that women in leadership positions face. The findings of Sommerlad and Sanderson (1998) and McGlynn (2000) about the biased prejudices towards female solicitors can be better explained using the theory of Role Congruity of Prejudice advanced by two psychologists, Eagly and Karau (2002). Following a test of their theory using available empirical research on female stereotypes and leadership assumptions, they proposed the existence of a perceived incongruity between the female gender and leadership roles which lead to a dual form of prejudice against females.

Firstly, the theory proposes that women are perceived less favourably than men as potential occupants of leadership roles. Secondly, they proposed that female behaviour that fulfils the prescriptions of leadership roles are usually valued less favourably when enacted by a woman (2002). The tenets of the theory are similar to what has been identified within the UK legal profession whereby the feminine traits of female solicitors are deemed ‘unfit' within the stereotyped masculine characteristics of effective leadership. The theory explains the notion that men are natural leaders and therefore are more congruent with leadership roles, unlike women. The theory is against the backdrop of the dissenting views of scholars like Krinzman (2015) who opine that leadership qualities transcend gender and no particular gender can lay exclusive claim to having those qualities concerning law practice.

120 Even though Eagly and Karau's (2002) proposition about gendered prejudices was based on a test of previous empirical studies of other scholars, qualitative research by Kumra and Vinnicombe in 2008 confirmed the tenets of their theory of Role congruity and prejudices among professional service firms in the UK. Kumra and Vinnicombe (2008) jointly conducted a case study on the promotion to partner process in professional services firms that explored how women were disadvantaged during promotions within the industry. Their case study of a single global management consultancy firm named Consultco involved interviews with 34 male and female senior consultants.

They established two areas of disadvantage for women in the promotion process. Firstly, Kumra and Vinnicombe (2008) observed the presence of a self-managed career advancement process with little support for female consultants. Secondly, they found that there was the need for female consultants to ‘fit' into a prevailing masculine model of success within the firm which was problematic for the women. Based on their findings, they suggested that further studies should be undertaken specifically on the promotion to partner process in other professional service firms like Law and accountancy firms.

In 2015, Savita Kumra explored why the increase in women’s participation as a result of several equality and diversity initiatives has not led to their inclusion at senior levels in large firms in the UK. She argued that “the main barriers are macro and micro processes of social reproduction, poor access to mentors and influential business networks and gender bias in society at large” (p. 2278). Kumra (2015) further identified that male partners continue to outnumber females by approximately four to one in large law firms. She concluded that “large law firms, rather than tackle the deep-rooted and systemic factors that combine to produce discrimination, opt instead for an approach in which they are “busy doing nothing” appearing to tackle the issue, but leaving the status quo unchallenged and unchecked” (p.2278).

It was considered relevant to this study based on the premise that similar prejudices have been previously found inherent within the legal profession as found by Ashley (2010), Ashley and Empson (2013), Bolton and Muzio (2007;2008), Sommerlad and Sanderson (1998), Sommerlad (2016), McGlynn (2000; 2002; 2015) and several

121 others. The role congruity theory aided the researcher’s analysis of the situation in small, medium and large private law firms in England.

2.9.3 Preference theory of Prejudice as a chosen research framework

The Preference theory of Prejudice against women was propagated by Hakim in 2000. The theory helped to explain the different views regarding the choices of women during this research and therefore was adopted as one of the research frameworks. One of the perspectives being challenged by several UK scholars in the literature on gendered marginalization within law firms dwells on the choices that female solicitors make (Bolton & Muzio, 2007; Sommerlad & Sanderson, 1998: McGlynn, 2002; 2016). In addition to questions about why women do not progress to partner positions as much as men, there is also a comprehensive discourse on whether the real choices of female solicitors regarding their careers are voluntary or involuntary. There is a debate as to whether those choices are actual choices bearing in mind the existence of assumed gender neutrality within the legal profession which creates enormous challenges for female practitioners. Sommerlad and Sanderson(1998)and McGlynn(2000;2002) all contend that, since female solicitors are not judged according to their actual gender, the evaluation as to their abilities, attributes and competencies remain subjective and so could be incorrect. In the light of this, a consideration of the professional choices made by those who fall outside the "ideal lawyer" image became very important.