Women in Law "Pressure Points": 50% Say Their Working Pattern Is Unsustainable for Long-Term Health

Published on 17 June 2026, the Pressure Points: Mapping Women's Wellbeing in Law report from the Next 100 Years project, supported by law firm RPC and charity LawCare, surveyed 500 women lawyers and found that one in two say their current working pattern is unsustainable for their long-term health. Eighty-five percent reported health and wellbeing issues — stress, burnout, anxiety — that affected their work in the past five years; 67 percent considered moving job or taking a career break as a result; and 43 percent said they could not openly discuss such issues at work without negative consequences. The report appeared the same week as LawCare CEO Elizabeth Rimmer's comment that "stress, burnout and exhaustion shouldn't just be accepted as part of the job," and followed the April announcement of a three-year, £45,000 CLLS–CLSC–LawCare partnership explicitly framed as a signal to the wider profession. For HR directors and talent retention leads, the 43 percent figure — nearly half the female workforce believing disclosure carries professional risk — quantifies the psychological safety gap that makes any wellbeing program structurally incomplete until the candor barrier is addressed. The report's specific policy recommendations — review of billing models, paid carers leave, flexible working support, menopause and fertility policies — provide an actionable checklist rather than general exhortation.