Efemona Balogun

A gender balance is indeed desirable and necessary in the legal profession. There seems to be an influx of women into the legal profession considering the rates at which women excel at the Nigerian Bar Examinations. In practice however, the default presumption seems to be that a man will execute a legal task better when in fact a woman may be just as capable or even better. In order to build a better gender balance, this needs to change, and it can by legal professionals of all genders making conscious efforts not to exclude women from tasks based on the afore mentioned presumption, no matter how tasking the job may appear to be.

Rehoboth Juwah

I think the legal society we now live in, has gone beyond gender inequality or imbalance. This is very evident as females now occupy positions which were largely occupied by males. This is more so against the background that the law sees no gender and strives to protect the rights of women. I believe that so far, women have been warmly accommodated and applauded in the legal profession. Consider that our emblem of Justice Lady Justitia for example, is a woman. To say there is an imbalance in the Nigerian legal profession of today may be farfetched. Rather, the balanced status quo is so that, both women currently in the profession and this who aspire to join the profession can dream and work hard to be better and to better the profession.

While I do not agree that a gender imbalance exists from women being denied their rights or opportunities, it is my opinion that a shadow imbalance caused by the insufficient action of women still exists and therefore, it is desirable that a better balance be established. This can only be done with females encouraging themselves to achieve more if we must be a force to be reckoned with. The only reason we have a lot of the male counterparts holding top sensitive positions is that, fewer women put are willing to invest the required effort towards attaining such positions. Until women begin to showcase their expertise and intelligence to awaken all that they can be in the legal profession, the shadow imbalance will continue to exist.

Bukola Adekoya

The rise of women in the legal profession is impressive considering the fact that centuries ago, the field was predominantly male. Today however, women can draw inspiration from the likes of Stella Jane Thomas who rose through the ranks at the Nigerian Bench to become the first female Magistrate in Nigeria and Folake Solanke who emerged and the first Female Nigerian Lawyer to wear the silk gown as a Female SAN. Women are rising gradually to occupy key positions in Nigeria today both at the Bar and in the Judiciary. This welcome development is evident not only in the legal profession but in Nigeria as a whole. One day we might even come to experience a legal profession populated mainly not by men as has been the case in the past but by women.

Nevertheless, it seems to me that the legal profession in Nigeria was designed solely with men in mind. This was fair considering that Nigeria's cultural history developed from a position where it was difficult to have envisioned the possibility of a girl child being so learned as to become a lawyer. As a result, the legal profession is still yet to recognize the two genders that exist within it and the country generally. The implication is that women are denied the right to be recognized in their duality as being both a lawyer and a female despite having attained the same qualifications as their male counterparts. Take for instance the practice of referring to obviously female judges to as "He or Sir" rather than using female pronouns.

Alternatively, the profession recognizes the female gender in ways that may be considered discriminatory. Consider for example, that women are required by some judges to state their marital status while their male counterparts are not asked to do the same. This issue of discrimination also transcends from the Bar to the Bench. The constitution itself which is the grundnorm to all the laws of the land sets the foundation of discrimination against women as it does not reflect the reality of today's society by recognizing only one gender in its provisions. This especially important seeing that the provisions governing roles such as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria refer to aspiring candidates as "he" alone.

It is high time that the legal profession and the Country incorporate gender diversity into its legislation and practice to bring them in line with the realities that exist within our society. Finally, gender sensitivity must be promoted to reduce barriers to personal and economic development and to generate equal respect and recognition of all genders.