A law unto themselves?

Professor Jo Shaw, department of law, University of Leeds

"Over the years legal academia has become increasingly feminised. When I first joined the Society of Public Teachers of Law in the mid-1980s I was invited to bring my 'wife' to the annual conference. I found the invitation shocking and told them so. Certainly legal academia has become - at least outwardly - a place more tolerant of different lifestyles, and even of orientations. Since I began work, a number of women have moved into senior positions in the universities and many have joined the junior ranks. The upper ranks remain male-dominated, nonetheless. The acid test is that I have never been in a position to use a woman as a referee.

Legal academia has offered an environment in which gay men and lesbians have felt able to come out. Sadly, there remain few ethnic minority staff in law schools.

While I have encountered little hostility to my career progress, I have occasionally detected uneasiness, mainly on the part of male colleagues."