National Survey of Women Advocates: SCBA extends response submissions till Feb 15

The Supreme Court Bar Association has extended the deadline for its National Survey of women advocates to February 15.

"Women Advocates are requested to extend their wholehearted participation in the survey. The objective of the survey is to highlight the lived experiences of women advocates ind to contribute towards building a more inclusive, equitable, and representative legal community," the circular issued by SCBA in this regard adds.

The survey findings will be analysed and presented at a National Level Conference, tentatively scheduled for the third week of March, 2026.

Google Form can be found here: https://forms.gle/Sz7sV36uRGKkbt3E8

Last year too, the SCBA has conducted a survey which offered a data-driven look into the professional experiences of women lawyers in India, revealing wide ranging concerns about gender bias, leadership exclusion, career disruption due to marriage and motherhood and systemic gaps in institutional support.

The findings were presented at the SCBA event titled “We Women Empowerment in Law: A Panel Discussion on Strength, Struggle and Success,” and together paint a picture of a profession where women continue to navigate challenges uniquely shaped by gendered expectations both inside and outside courtrooms.

A significant feature of the dataset lied in its demographic foundation; Out of 301 women who responded to the survey, an overwhelming 84.1 percent identified as first-generation lawyers. This was a notable marker of how many women in the profession do not come from established legal families and therefore often enter the system without the inherited networks, mentorship or resource advantages that second-generation lawyers may have.

Across the board, the survey made one trend unmistakably clear: women lawyers continue to push against cultural, structural and institutional constraints that make their professional journeys significantly more challenging than those of their male counterparts. The persistence of gender bias, the disproportionate impact of marriage and motherhood, the struggle for leadership representation and the quest for supportive institutional policies illustrate how much ground still needs to be covered for women to experience equal footing in the legal profession.

Sexual harassment at the workplace was reported by 6.2 percent, while concerns like mental health, inadequate training in court craft or drafting, and limited access to research platforms made up the remainder. Despite the hurdles, the survey found that women continue to imagine an aspirational future within and outside litigation. When asked about transitioning from practice to the judiciary, 43.1 percent said yes, while 31.2 percent said no and 25.8 percent were still considering the option. In another question, 64.1 percent of 295 respondents said they would advise their daughters or girls in their close circle to pursue law, showing that women despite facing systemic barriers still see the profession as meaningful and worth entering.

The data on preferred career streams further reflected how women weigh stability, opportunity and personal aspirations. Out of 288 responses, corporate roles topped the preference list at 39.6 percent, followed by litigation at 36.1 percent, judiciary at 13.5 percent and academics at 10.8 percent.

When the data was divided on the basis of generation, first-generation women marked litigation at 34.9 percent, judiciary at 36.9 percent, academy at 9 percent and corporate at 18.4 percent, whereas second-generation respondents marked litigation at 29.4 percent, judiciary at 39.2 percent, academy at 15.7 percent and corporate at 9.8 percent. Across the board, the surv