A perspective from a regional practice in Central America
Carolina Palma
- Associate Partner at EY
- Leader of the Indirect Tax Practice
While women represent a growing—and in many cases majority—share of law school students across Latin America and other regions, this presence does not translate proportionally into leadership positions within law firms, corporate legal departments, international organizations, or the judiciary. The phenomenon known as the “glass ceiling” remains a reality: a structural, often invisible barrier that limits the advancement of women in the legal profession.
According to various industry studies, while women make up more than 50% of entry-level staff at law firms, only between 15% and 25% reach partnership roles (Global Gender Gap Report, World Economic Forum, 2024). Representation in higher courts is even lower, despite formal commitments to gender parity. In our field—international trade—only 15% of global trade is led by women (WTO, 2022).
This phenomenon is not due to a lack of talent, merit, or ambition among women, but rather to a combination of factors: lack of visibility and sponsorship within organizational structures; gender biases—often unconscious—within evaluation and promotion processes; rigid institutional cultures that fail to account for work-life integration; and a lack of female leadership role models in the legal world.
Developing Legal Women Leaders: Proposals and Strategies
To reverse this trend, it’s not enough to simply "open up opportunities." We need a clear, sustainable, and transformative institutional strategy. Women need mentors who are committed to measurable goals for increasing female leadership, with incentives for those who sponsor and help achieve those goals. Organizations must openly and transparently commit to achieving specific female representation targets in leadership roles.
Some ways to reach this goal include:
1. Promote mentorship and sponsorship programs
Successful career advancement models show that structured and active mentorship networks have a significant impact on the professional development of young women lawyers. Sponsorship—defined as the public and strategic endorsement by a senior leader—also plays a critical role in opening doors to decision-making spaces.
2. Build leadership skills early on
Companies should incorporate leadership development into their training programs, including skills such as negotiation, effective communication, and management of diverse teams.
3. Transform organizational culture
Policies such as flexible work arrangements, results-based evaluations, equal parental leave, and transparent promotion systems can greatly help remove structural barriers that women face in the legal field.
4. Address gender bias
Training leaders and teams to recognize unconscious biases allows organizations to identify and break patterns that perpetuate inequality—from how high-profile cases are assigned to how leadership and commitment are evaluated.
5. Foster women’s professional networks
Female networking—based on professional solidarity and knowledge sharing—allows women lawyers to exchange resources, opportunities, and lessons learned. These networks support both individual growth and the collective strengthening of female leadership in the legal sector.
6. Implement strong, equitable firm policies
We must acknowledge the unequal starting point and actively work to level the playing field so that women have access to specific leadership roles. This should be a visible and open commitment from the firm.
Our Case
At EY’s Indirect Tax practice, we support companies in international trade and customs matters across Central America—an area historically dominated by men. In response, we’ve invested in the development of female talent, working closely with young professionals and equipping them with the skills needed to lead effectively—both in project execution and team leadership.
Today, we are proud to have a leadership team composed entirely of high-performing women, including three young managers (equivalent to associate-level attorneys) leading a team of eight professionals, all with strong potential to become future directors or partners in the practice.
Many of our clients also have women-led teams, and they’ve consistently reported positive outcomes and recognized the added value that diversity brings to their business relationships.
A 2021 study by Credit Suisse supports this experience: companies with more than 20% diversity have enjoyed EBITDA margins that are, on average, 1.6 percentage points higher since 2010 compared to those with less than 15% diversity. Companies with greater diversity in leadership also show better stock performance.
These findings reinforce our belief that diversity is not just a matter of fairness - it is a strategic advantage.
The real challenge is not about adjusting women to fit into traditional leadership models, but rather about redefining leadership itself to be more inclusive, human, and representative of the rich diversity of talent in today’s legal profession.
