WISCAR: Ipaye, Oyagbola Seek Reforms to Break Barriers to Women’s Leadership in Law

Funmi Ogundare 

The Administrative Judge of the Lagos Division of the High Court, Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye, yesterday urged women in the legal profession to leverage their leadership positions to drive institutional reforms, promote gender equality and create opportunities for younger generations of female professionals.

Ipaye said attaining leadership positions should not be the ultimate goal for women, explaining that they must use their influence to strengthen institutions, challenge discriminatory practices and mentor others to achieve their professional ambitions.

She made this known at the Women in Law Mentoring Programme  (WILMP), in Lagos, organised by Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR), themed, ‘From Learning to Leading: Networking, Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Law’.

According to her, although women have made significant progress in the legal profession and other sectors, gender stereotypes, unconscious bias, exclusion from professional networks and workplace cultures that overlook caregiving responsibilities continue to hinder their advancement.

In her keynote titled, ‘Beyond the Bench: Women Redefining Leadership in Law and Governance’, Ipaye explained that attaining a position is not the culmination of leadership, but the beginning of a greater responsibility.

“Leadership is not only what we achieve, but what we make possible for others,” she said, adding that women have gradually broken barriers in the legal profession, occupying critical positions in the judiciary, legal education and professional associations.

She cited the emergence of women in the highest judicial offices and leadership positions within the legal profession as evidence that the traditional barriers to women’s advancement were gradually being dismantled.

However, she cautioned that the progress recorded should not obscure the structural challenges women continue to face in their pursuit of leadership.

Tracing the historical evolution of women’s participation in the legal profession, Ipaye explained that women were historically excluded from positions of authority and economic independence under patriarchal systems and discriminatory legal traditions.

She noted women had to contend with decades of exclusion before gaining access to the legal profession and the judiciary, adding that the historical gap had placed women at a disadvantage in competing for leadership positions.

According to her, “understanding this history is essential to appreciating the progress made and identifying the reforms required to achieve genuine equality.

The administrative judge urged women professionals to continually improve their knowledge, uphold integrity, share their experiences, open doors for others and strengthen the institutions they serve.

“Leadership is not measured only by what we achieve while in office, but by what remains after we leave,” she stated.

Earlier in her remarks, Founder of WISCAR, Amina Oyagbola, called for structural reforms in Nigeria’s legal profession to address barriers hindering women’s advancement to leadership positions.

Oyagbola said mentorship alone was insufficient to advance women’s careers, emphasising the need for transparent promotion opportunities, effective sponsorship, fair selection processes and institutional policies that promote merit and inclusion.

She advocated stronger collaboration among the judiciary, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigerian Law School, professional associations, academia and policymakers to create equitable pathways for women’s leadership.

The programme’s findings, she noted, showed that women continued to face significant barriers in their pursuit of leadership positions, many of which were rooted in institutional practices and patriarchal norms.

According to her, a needs assessment conducted by WISCAR’s Women in Law mentoring programme, which surveyed nearly 500 legal practitioners, 99 per cent of whom were women, found that more than 70 per cent identified patriarchal norms as a severe barrier to their advancement.

She added that more than half of the respondents reported limited access to mentorship, sponsorship and professional networks.

“These findings reinforce an important point: while individual talent, competence and determination matter, women’s advancement is also shaped by the opportunities available to them and the structures within which they work,” she said.

Oyagbola explained that the findings informed the programme’s decision to move beyond mentoring women to succeed within existing systems towards engaging institutions to address the barriers to their advancement.

She said the first cohort of the 12-month programme demonstrated the value of structured mentoring but also highlighted its limitations where institutional pathways to leadership remained inaccessible.

“With cohort two, we have enrolled 120 women. We have taken a deliberate step forward from mentoring women to succeed within the system to engaging the system itself in creating more equitable pathways for leadership,” she said.

She disclosed that participants in eight mentoring circles had examined challenges confronting women in Nigeria’s legal profession and developed policy proposals to address them.

Following a review by the programme’s steering committee, she said, two leading proposals would be presented at the convening to encourage practical advocacy and policy engagement.

The founder urged stakeholders to treat the proposals as practical solutions developed by emerging women leaders rather than merely academic exercises.

She called on participants and institutional leaders to support the proposals and ensure their translation into actionable policies.

The WISCAR founder noted that the legal profession played a critical role in upholding the rule of law, protecting citizens’ rights, shaping public policy and strengthening national institutions.

She said a profession that fully harnessed women’s talents and leadership would be better positioned to serve society.

While acknowledging women’s achievements in prominent judicial leadership positions, Oyagbola said such milestones should become part of a sustained pattern of progress rather than remain exceptional accomplishments.

“It doesn’t have to be that way. Our collective responsibility is to ensure that today’s achievements do not remain exceptional milestones, but become part of a sustained and institutionalised pattern of progress based on merit,” she said.

Addressing the mentees, she encouraged them to seek mentorship, build professional networks, ask difficult questions and contribute meaningfully to discussions shaping the future of the legal profession.

“Do not underestimate the value and power of your own voice, your own perspective and your own abilities to influence change,” she said.

Also speaking, the Deputy Director and Head of the Nigerian Law School, Mr. Samuel Adedoyin Osamolu noted that there is a need for institutions and employers to dismantle gender-based barriers, promote merit-based appointments and create equal opportunities for qualified women to attain leadership positions.

Osamolu, represented by a legal practitioner, Mrs. Yinka Odukoya, said competence and ambition were not limited by gender, stressing that the challenge was to build a society where every qualified woman had a fair opportunity to lead.

He said advancing women was not a contest between men and women or a demand for preferential treatment, but a question of fairness, equal opportunity and recognising talent wherever it existed.

According to him, denying a qualified woman an opportunity because of her gender deprives not only the individual of professional advancement but also institutions and society of the contributions she could make.

“Recent developments in Nigeria’s legal profession demonstrated women’s capacity to occupy strategic positions, shape institutions and contribute meaningfully to the administration of justice,” he stated.

He cited the emergence of women into senior positions within the country’s legal institutions as encouraging developments, adding that such achievements should pave the way for more women to access leadership opportunities.

The Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Adejoke Oyewunmi, raised concerns over the underrepresentation of women in senior academic positions, revealing that only six of the faculty’s 26 professors are women.

She stated that despite the increasing number of women excelling academically and entering the legal profession, their progression to leadership positions remains slower than that of their male counterparts.

She called for deliberate efforts to address the barriers limiting women’s advancement in the legal profession and other sectors.

According to her, the statistics at the Faculty of Law, UNILAG, highlight the disparity between women’s participation in the profession and their representation in leadership positions.

She stated: “although women constitute a significant proportion of the faculty’s academic workforce, their numbers decline considerably at the professorial level.”

The dean urged younger women to recognise that leadership was not merely about personal achievement but also, about creating opportunities for others and contributing to the development of their professions and society.

Oyewunmi commended WISCAR for its sustained commitment to mentorship and the professional development of women, encouraging participants in its mentorship programme to remain open to learning, building connections and making meaningful contributions.

She said deliberate efforts were necessary to address the challenges confronting women in their career progression and ensure that qualified women had fair opportunities to attain leadership positions.