Durban - Desiree Finca became the first black woman in South Africa to be admitted as an attorney in 1967.
Preceding her was Constance Mary Hall who made history as the first female to be admitted as an attorney in the country.
Nearly six decades later, men still vastly outnumber women in law professions. The gap is especially wide for black women who are attempting to get a foot in the door and a rung on the legal sector’s career ladder.
According to Thabile Fuhrmann, director in the Dispute Resolution practice at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH), the profession still has a long way to go, but it is moving forward in the right direction.
She said large law firms have seen a vast improvement in representation, but this transformation still required careful scrutiny.
“We can fill our corridors with candidate attorneys and make sure we have more women and even black women than anyone else. That’s fine. But unless they're able to make it to the top and break through that glass ceiling, what’s the point?”
Fuhrmann points to South Africa’s recent quest for a new chief justice and said many people in the country were eagerly awaiting the appointment of a woman to this position.
A prime candidate would have been the newly appointed Deputy Chief Justice Mandisa Maya, according to the law expert.
When asked how she felt about President Cyril Ramaphosa appointing more men than women to the Constitutional Court bench, Justice Maya said she is disappointed with South Africa’s lofty Constitution and all its “fancy” laws that ensure that equality and human dignity are achieved in our lifetime while lagging far behind many countries.
“Even on the continent, insofar as diversifying its judiciary is concerned, it’s worse when it comes to putting women in leadership positions,” said Justice Maya.
Gender still makes people uncomfortable, especially those at the top, asserted Fuhrmann.
“The fact that Judge President Mandisa Maya had to answer any questions surrounding her gender while her male counterparts could display their intellectual prowess around legal questions is exactly the problem,” said Fuhrmann.
A solution to this is to empower other black and female lawyers, regardless of where they come from or which firm they work for, she advised.
“I engage with so many inspiring young women who I believe have the power and passion to shape the sector and in doing so, build the nation. We need to create a career growth path for them now, so tomorrow they can do the same for other young black women looking to make it in law.”
Advocate Jackie Nagtegaal, who is the managing director at Law For All, said transformation was of the utmost importance.
“We must create the world we wish to see. I believe there rests a greater onus on us to boost transformation, as it is the legal fraternity that shapes how we do things in the future. Representation and equal opportunity are essential elements for a truly democratic South Africa,” said Nagtegaal.
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