Lawyer Monthly Magazine -December 2019 Edition

THE WOMEN WHO BROKE BARRIERS … Follow us through time as we list the prominent legal female figures that broke boundaries, moulded the legal sector into what it is now and created opportunities for their successors, years post their reign. 1832 The Suffragette Movement was beginning in the UK and Mary Smith was the first women’s suffrage to petition to Parliament. During this time, The Great Reform Act specifies that only “male persons” can vote. 1859 Born in London, Maria Rye – whose father was a solicitor himself – became concerned over the lack of opportunities for women in employment outside of teaching. She thus set up a law stationer’s business in Lincoln’s Inn in order to provide employment opportunities for women, such as clerking and copying legal documents.