The only substantial study of the position of women in the legal profession in Ireland was undertaken in the North, where the Association of Women Solicitors and the Equal Opportunities Commission carried out an independent survey. The Law Society of Northern Ireland refused to fund it, according to Margaret Magennis, spokeswoman for the association.

It makes sobering reading. It reveals an under-representation of women solicitors in the senior levels of management in private practice, which could not be accounted for by length of experience or academic qualifications. It also found that female solicitors were paid less than men.

For example, only 23 per cent of women were either equity or salaried partners in their firms, compared with 69 per cent of men. Yet the survey found that a higher proportion of the women than men had either first class or upper second class degrees.

More than two-thirds of women received a flat salary, compared with 32 per cent of men. The majority of men received a salary plus profits or "other arrangements". Of solicitors with 10-19 years' experience, 70 per cent of men earned more than £35,000 sterling a year, while 62 per cent of women earned less than that. Only 4 per cent of men at this level earned less than £20,000 sterling, while 23 per cent of women did.

Women solicitors in the North believed their careers would suffer if they reduced their work after maternity leave, though those working in the public sector felt more secure about taking up their full entitlements.

They also reported stereotyping and sexual harassment. One third of the women solicitors reported being asked to perform a range of traditional female roles at work, including making tea, typing, cleaning the premises, softening up clients, baby-sitting and sewing on buttons. A similar number reported experiencing sexual harassment either from colleagues or clients.