Earnings Pay Gap at the Bar

In late 2025, the Bar Council published its annual report, ‘Gross earnings by sex and practice area at the self-employed Bar’. The report is based on 2024 earnings data and makes for a sobering read. 

The report found that in 2024, women continued to earn less than men across all experience levels at the self-employed Bar. Comparing median gross earnings, it found that junior women were earning 76% of what junior men were earning and that female silks were earning 72% of the median gross earnings of their male colleagues.

The report found that the gap persists across every post-qualification experience band with the highest earning men consistently earning more than the highest earning women. 

Further, the earnings gap exists in every area of practice – even in those dominated by women!

Worst of all, the gender gap is still increasing! Despite higher median earnings among both female and male barristers between 2021 and 2024, the earnings of female barristers increased by less than that of male barristers. 

What could be the reason for discrepancy in income across genders? Research suggests that this could be caused by:

• Unequal work allocation – with clerks more likely to promote male barristers to clients, or to give them higher-value cases; 
• Less work allocated to women attempting to work flexibly to care for children or when they return from maternity leave; or, 
• Expectations that female barristers will specialise in lower-earning and often publicly funded practice areas.

Further, data from the Bar Council suggests that female barristers are more likely to work part-time compared to male barristers (14% women vs 8% of men).

For further analysis and graphics on the earnings gap at the Bar and its place within the wider context of women’s progression among solicitors and in the judiciary, see our recent report: ‘Progression of Women in the Legal Profession. How far have we come?’. 

Published on 8 March 2026 to mark International Women’s Day, the report acknowledges the progress women have made in the legal sector while also highlighting the continuing need to address the inequalities that remain.  

Farore Law undertakes inquiries and produces investigation reports on gender equality and pay gaps for companies, professional services firms, and Chambers. Please get in touch if you require support on a similar matter.  

For further analysis and graphics on the earnings gap at the Bar and its place within the wider context of women’s progression among solicitors and in the judiciary, see our recent report: ‘Progression of Women in the Legal Profession. How far have we come?’  Read the report here