Career returners: The forgotten cohort

Every year we mark IWD but why, exactly, do we need an International Women's Day and what does it mean for women in the legal sector? This article is the second in our series of four articles exploring the topic of gender equality in the legal workplace.

Welcome to our International Women's Day (IWD) series 2026.

Not everyone agrees on marking one-off awareness days nor do we all agree on themes. But some facts are hard to ignore.

Based on 2025 data from the World Economic Forum, reaching full global gender parity is estimated to be at least 123 years away, placing the projected achievement date around the year 2148. Not in our lifetimes, our children’s or our grandchildren's - a sobering thought.

The report also highlights that no economy has yet achieved full gender parity. Iceland (92.6%) continues to lead the Global Gender Gap Index, holding the top position for 16 consecutive years, and remains the only economy to have closed more than 90% of its gender gap since 2022.

But it's not all bad news. The UK ranked 4th globally, significantly improving from its previous position, with a gender gap closure score of 83.8%. This places the UK behind Iceland (1st), Finland (2nd), and Norway (3rd).

As for Scotland, while the World Economic Forum's above Global Gender Gap Report focuses on countries, Scotland is highlighted as the top UK region in PwC's 2025 Women in Work Index, ranking 1st within the UK, with strong female labour participation (75%) and a narrowing gender pay gap.

To mark International Women’s Day in the Scottish legal profession this year, we have chosen to shine a spotlight on the introduction, retention, and advancement of female talent in true diverse style.

In a series of four articles, we will be looking at the facts and figures, trends and predictions at every level of the profession, followed by personal insights from female contributors from a wide range of backgrounds to provide a wide lens approach to the challenges facing and opportunities available to the profession in 2026 and beyond.

Career leavers: The forgotten Cohort

In this second article, we are looking at career returners. Most recruitment and retention practices are aimed at students, trainees, and active professionals. But what about those who have taken a career break? What support are we offering them for returning to the profession?

Anecdotal evidence suggests a "leaky pipeline" where many women leave the profession mid-career, but we do not have a clear picture of how many successfully return. The focus of recent efforts has been on removing barriers and providing structured support to retain female talent and encourage returners.

Current barriers and challenges

Women returning after a career break often find it harder to secure senior-level positions, even with extensive experience. Factors include a lack of access to flexible working, a loss of confidence due to time away, and concerns about outdated skills.

While specific data on return rates is limited, initiatives have been introduced to help women return to law: 

• Large law firms such as Dentons, DLA Piper, DWF and Addleshaw Goddard have introduced return-to-work programmes, offering supported pathways back into work, including mentoring and coaching.

• The Scottish Government has previously offered funding to support women who have had career breaks, and organisations like the Law Society of Scotland provide guidance and promote best practices. 

• The UK Law Societies offer mentoring schemes to help returners navigate the challenges of re-entering the profession.

  
  

How effective and widespread these initiatives have been in Scotland is open to debate and review. We hope this article helps ignite that debate.

In this article, we have two guest contributors sharing their perspectives on returning to the profession.

Through the eyes of a career returner – non-practising to practising by Nazia Ahmed

I first collaborated with Naeema and Diversity+ a year ago and thought it only right to do a follow-up on my journey back into the legal profession, in the hope that it shines a light on the barriers faced by the often forgotten talent pool that is career returners, the majority of whom are women.

My Story

For those who are unaware of my story, I practised law in England & Wales some 20+ years ago. I became a full time mother and made the decision to step away from law due to caring responsibilities. In that time I relocated to Glasgow and requalified as a solicitor in Scotland as the intention was always to return to law at some point.

17 years later, I am pleased to say that I can finally stop saying the words “non-practising solicitor” when asked about my professional background. By the time this article is published, I will have started a new role as an in-house solicitor at a local authority.

After months of rejection emails, I returned to work in March 2025 as a paralegal at Morton Fraser MacRoberts, one of Scotland’s largest independent law firms. Morton Fraser MacRoberts looked past my career break when other firms were unwilling to.

On reflection, in my case, it was the right decision starting with the paralegal role, not due to lack of confidence or ability, but to get to grips with changes in IT. I also recognised that my life as I had known it for the last 16 years was going to drastically change when I returned to work full-time. I also have a health condition and had no idea how working full-time would affect that. I just knew that I wanted to return to law and would do whatever it took to make it happen. With regards to legal work, this was not an issue in the slightest, given that I had undertaken similar work in England, albeit the law and procedures are different in Scotland. It did not take long to settle into the role, and within a few months, I knew that I was ready to go back into a qualified role.

From day one, I had been completely transparent about my aim and that the paralegal role was a stepping stone in my journey back to law. My colleagues were incredibly supportive and encouraging, but unfortunately, the firm was unable to offer me a qualified role, and I made the decision to start applying externally, 6 months after I returned to work.

 I was offered a qualified role in November 2025, 8 months after returning to work, but red tape surrounding career returners meant it took longer to obtain a practising certificate.

Barriers to career returners

From my personal experience, the most problematic barrier I faced was employer/HR and recruitment agency perceptions of career returners. Their inability or dare I say, their unwillingness to recognise the skills and experience that career returners bring to the table and place them accordingly. The stigma associated with career returners is very much real and sadly will stay unless action is taken by the powers that be.

From a career returner’s perspective, citing concerns such as lack of current knowledge or experience is dismissive of the knowledge/experience and skills we do possess. Everything is teachable and career returners are ready, willing and able to learn/retrain/upskill. It is not uncommon to learn on the job and in many situations, NQs are doing just that. Why not give that opportunity to a career returner?

I accepted the paralegal role as I was not being put forward for qualified roles based on my career break.

Career returners are often pushed and pigeon-holed into roles they are clearly overqualified for, and a few months into the paralegal role, I knew that, regardless of the barriers I was facing, I could not let myself stay in that role indefinitely, despite being in arguably the best team at the firm.

It is often the case that returners are made to feel that they should be grateful for a role far below their capabilities. When applying for qualified roles, I was asked whether I would consider taking up another role as a paralegal to “prove” myself to a potential employer. The answer was a swift no. Why should I have to keep proving myself?

Sadly, the career break penalty will continue to exist if law firms and recruitment agencies do not shift their mindset and outdated recruitment policies.

Career returners should be assessed on the skill set they possess, coupled with the life experience they acquired during their career break. Their work ethic is impressive and in my humble opinion, is far more important than the concerns which employers/agencies cite to reject them. Please stop underestimating career returners and appreciate that many return to law not because they need to, but because they want to.

The latter is true in my case. I wanted to reclaim a part of myself which I had to give up due to personal circumstances. It was not easy to enter a profession in the late 90s/early 2000s, which was never meant for women like me – a visibly practising Muslim from an ethnic minority. I was not going to let the sacrifices made by my parents or my own hard work go to waste.

Despite the barriers, my journey back to law has been worth the wait, but I know many are struggling to re-enter the profession.

Please do not give up. Your worth is not determined by others. You do not need validation. Do not be afraid to voice your end goal.

Networking, networking, networking!

I had no legal network in Scotland and signed up to the Law Society of Scotland’s mentoring service. This is a brilliant opportunity to start networking. My chosen mentor pushed me out of my comfort zone and had me join LinkedIn (did not exist when I was working 20+ years ago and I had no reason to sign up before). She encouraged me to attend networking events and it paid off. I secured the role at Morton Fraser MacRoberts as a result.

I was extremely selective about which firms I applied to. I made it a point of trawling through their websites and checking if they had people who looked like me – Muslim, from an ethnic minority, was there anyone wearing a hijab? Representation matters. If they didn’t, I made no apologies for questioning why. If firms proudly advertise their EDI policies, then they should rightfully be questioned if the reality is contradictory. I appreciate someone in their early 20s looking for a training contract may not have the confidence to speak up but as someone of a certain age, I did not hesitate as I was interviewing them too.

The recruitment process is a two-way street. As a returner, it was incredibly important for me to find a firm where I could be a practising Muslim, a British Pakistani and a single mother with a health condition. Thank you to Morton Fraser MacRoberts for being that firm. I could not have asked for a better firm or team to restart my legal career with.

The change required

The regulatory bodies must play an active role in helping career returners secure suitable roles and encourage law firms to genuinely consider returners in a fair manner.

Recruitment agencies also need to change their unfair treatment of career returners. From my own experience, if I had to advise someone contemplating returning to law, I would advise not to use agencies. No one can or will champion you better than you. I have seen first-hand how dismissive agencies can be when the words “career break” are mentioned.

I did however come across The Direct Referral Network on LinkedIn and would highly recommend anyone looking to return to law, to reach out to them. Genuine non-judgemental professionals who give up their time to actually listen and support. Whilst the members may not all hail from a legal background, they hold/held senior positions in some of the world’s largest organisations and place an importance on networking. Their advice and suggestions are invaluable.

In Scotland, there are currently no returners’ programmes or networking events, that I am aware of, aimed at career returners. It would be encouraging if the major Scottish law firms could collaborate in some way and jointly create a returners’ programme/host recruitment drives aimed at career returners.

Other professions actively encourage, welcome and support career returners. I hope the legal profession can follow suit.

Thank you for taking the time to read about the barriers faced by career returners. If you know someone thinking of returning to law or struggling to return, please do encourage them to get in touch with me.

Nazia Ahmed

Dual qualified solicitor (East Renfrewshire Council)

The Value of Career Returners: A Lived Perspective by maryam Kayani

My route back into the legal profession was not linear, but it was never a departure from the skills, values or responsibilities that underpin legal practice.

I graduated with a First-Class law degree in 2020, during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Like many at that time, the world I expected to step into no longer existed. At the same time, my family circumstances shifted in ways that required sustained care and responsibility.

Between 2020 and 2025, I experienced a series of bereavements and caring responsibilities, including supporting family members through end-of-life care. These years are often labelled as “time away,” but in reality they involved continuous decision-making, advocacy, negotiation, and accountability - skills central to legal work, exercised in high-stakes personal contexts rather than formal professional ones.

Throughout this period, I made a deliberate decision not to disengage from learning or contribution. In September 2020, supported by a scholarship, I began an MLitt in Gender Studies at the University of St Andrews, completing the one-year programme over two years to balance caring responsibilities. I continued to upskill, research, write and critically engage with questions of inequality, access and institutional responsibility.

Alongside this, I remained active in community work, became a trustee, supported individuals with private client matters, and continued to use my legal training in practical, people-centred ways. I never stopped using my skills; I simply applied them beyond conventional pathways, while working within my capacity. This reinforces an important reality for returners: professional identity does not disappear simply because practice settings change.

I also continued networking. I stayed connected to the profession, engaged in community spaces, and built relationships authentically. In March 2025, that consistency paid off. At a community event, I had an impromptu conversation with a Amar Wali, a partner at Morton Fraser MacRoberts. I explained my background and told him I was actively seeking an opportunity to return to legal practice, asking him to keep me in mind should anything suitable arise. A few months later, he got in touch.

At interview, I did not apologise for the past five years. I explained them. I spoke about resilience, responsibility, sustained skills, and readiness. I was offered the role.

From day one, I was in the deep end: long hours, steep learning curves, and high expectations. But the judgment and emotional regulation I had developed outside the profession meant I could hold my own. I did not break under pressure; I was motivated by it. That experience led me to undertake the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice, which I am now close to completing, while working part time at the firm and actively seeking a traineeship to build a long-term career in law.

What this journey has shown me is that time away from traditional practice did not diminish my capability - it enhanced it. 

My experience as a career returner is also shaped by identity and structure. I am a Pakistani Muslim woman, visibly Muslim, first in my family to attend university, care-experienced and was a young carer. These factors are often framed as barriers and structurally, they can be, but they also cultivate skills at a young age that usually take years to develop: emotional intelligence, grit, strong advocacy, adaptability and the ability to manage complexity with composure.

Career returners bring perspective, maturity, crisis management and interpersonal skill that cannot be taught in classrooms. They are taught by life. The profession does not need to ask whether that experience is relevant, it needs to start recognising it.

Maryam Kayani

Law graduate and Diploma in Professional Legal Practice student, currently working part-time at Morton Fraser MacRoberts.

The future of career returners

Career returners are not an anomaly within the Scottish legal profession; they are a critical, underutilised source of experienced talent. The narratives shared by our guest contributors expose both the structural rigidity of traditional recruitment models and the inadequacy of viewing career trajectories as linear. A career break does not equate to a loss of skills. In many cases, it produces enhanced resilience, judgment, emotional intelligence, and complex problem-solving capacity—core competencies for effective legal practice.

The persistent “career break penalty” reflects outdated assumptions about merit, currency of knowledge, and professional commitment. While initiatives exist, the absence of coordinated, Scotland-wide returner programmes and targeted recruitment strategies signals a gap between stated commitments to diversity and operational reality. If firms genuinely seek to strengthen retention, broaden representation, and address the mid-career attrition of women, then returners must be integrated into workplace planning.

Regulators, firms, and recruitment intermediaries each hold responsibility. Fair assessment frameworks, transparent practising certificate processes, structured re-entry pathways, and accountability in hiring practices are not aspirational measures; they are necessary reforms. The profession must shift from questioning whether returners can adapt, to recognising that adaptability is precisely what they offer.

Ultimately, the future strength of the legal profession depends on whether it values continuity of potential over continuity of presence. Career returners are not asking for concessions; they are asking for equitable evaluation. A profession committed to diversity, excellence, and public confidence cannot afford to overlook them.

Would you like to learn more about what we are doing to support firms in retaining and advancing female talent, including career returners? Have a look at the services being provided by our Look Up and Beyond project.