Women Lawyers in the Struggle for Gender Equality in the Bar (late 19th — early 20th centuries)

The paper analyzes the first steps of women lawyers to be admitted to the Russian Bar. During the period under review, it was possible to observe different opinions both on the issue of the admissibility of women’s participation as lawyers, and on the issue of the application of existing legislation to them. In this regard, it is of particular value to analyze trials that have become examples of the participation of females as defenders on conviction, as well as trials in which decisions were made in favor of the defendants, largely due to the professionalism of women lawyers. An important role is played by cases of admission to the professional community of women to a position or a reasonable refusal to obtain such a right with a normative justification. Particular attention is paid to overcoming legislative and social barriers to achieving gender equality in the legal community. The paper explains the main contradictions between women lawyers and officials, in particular prosecutors who objected to the admission of women to participate in court. However, the author also drew attention to the situations of approval of the actions of women to protect the rights of others in civil or criminal proceedings by the justice authorities. A rather significant aspect is the study of public opinion on litigation involving women as defenders. The author concludes that, despite the difficulties discussed, it was the continuous struggle of women for their rights that became the primary factor in the subsequent consolidation of equal opportunities for men and women to be lawyers.

1. Zhenshchina-advocat [Woman Advocate]. Sudebnaya gazeta [Court Newspaper]. 1889;23:9. (In Russ.).

2. Zhenshchina-advocat [Woman Advocate]. From newspapers. Sibirskaya zhyzn [Siberian Life]. 1912: 4. (In Russ.).

3. Lyublinskiy PI. Fighting the Women’s Bar and Lessons from the Rule of Law. Pravo. 1915;21:1528-1547. (In Russ.).

4. Ternovskiy A. On the issue of women’s advocacy. Sudebnaya gazeta [Court Newspaper]. 1893;21:5. (In Russ.).

5. Chronicle. Pravo. 1908;44:1420-1426. (In Russ.).

6. Shpits Z. Female Attorney. Sudebnaya gazeta [Court Newspaper]. 1893;8:8-9. (In Russ.).