bâtonnières du monde
Our MISSIONS
Around the world, the majority of lawyers are women. And yet, pay gaps persist, and women remain under-represented in the highest positions of our profession. This “and yet” is our reason for being.
Bâtonnières du Monde was born from a shared observation made by women who, in their respective countries, have all broken a glass ceiling — and who refuse to let future generations have to do the same.
This is not a movement against. It is a movement for: for equality. For the law. And for a profession that finally reflects the women and men who carry it forward.
Our Founding Act
The Call of the Women Bar Presidents
We, women Bar Presidents and Vice-Presidents from around the world, observe that gender inequalities persist in every country, to varying degrees — even though equal respect for the dignity of each and every person is the foundation of any peaceful society.
Because women’s rights are no longer part of a battle of the sexes, but of a concrete desire to pacify our societies through cooperation between all.
Because it is essential to promote a new form of governance — one that is mindful of everyone’s rights and fully embraces its role as a driver of change.
Because we share a similar mandate and a unique sensitivity, shaped by our respective cultural, political and social environments — allowing us to reaffirm the law as an essential foundation for resolving conflicts and fighting discrimination.
Because the universality of our journeys transcends the question of gender equality alone and joins the broader progress of human rights — which unites women and men lawyers around the world.
Today, we issue a solemn call.
To all women currently serving or having served as Bar President or Vice-President of the Bar:
Join us — to create a space for reflection, dialogue and action, where we can compare our experiences and strengthen our collective impact.
Join us — to promote equality in the fields of law and business.
Join us — to influence the development of artificial intelligences that strengthen women’s rights rather than erase them.
Join us — so that future generations of women may access, without restriction, the positions to which they aspire.
Join us — women and men working together to change society and finally ensure the respect and promotion of the equal dignity of each and every person.
- Our mission
4 commitments,
1 conviction
« Equality cannot be decreed.
It must be built. »
01
Representation
Promote the role of women in governance and representative positions within bars around the world.
02
Equality
Defend gender equality within the legal profession and beyond, across every sphere of society.
03
Acces to justice
Defend access to the law for all, and ensure that justice remains a space of equality — not privilege.
04
Governance
Encourage inclusive, representative and fair governance models within bars, companies and institutions.
Our causes
« Because the fight for equality goes beyond the courtroom. »
For genuine professional equality
Pay, access to mandates, maternity leave, work-life balance: the structural inequalities of the legal profession are not inevitable. We name them. We document them. We act.
Against violence against women
The law is a tool for protection. We are committed to ensuring that every woman victim of violence — whether she is a lawyer, an employee or a litigant — can access it.
For inclusive AI
AI reproduces the inequalities of the world that trained it. We refuse to let tomorrow’s world become an extension of yesterday’s discrimination. We call for the development of ethical, equitable AI, trained on diverse data — and placed at the service of the fight against violence against women.
To promote inclusive governance
Too many bars around the world still have no women in their governing bodies. We are working to change this — by example, by advocacy, through our network.
Our Method
Bâtonnières du Monde is neither a think tank, nor an NGO, nor a union. It is a global influence network.
"Alone, we opened doors.
Together, we will change the rules."
01
We speak out
Op-eds, press releases, public statements. Our collective voice carries further than our individual voices.
02
We act through and for the law
Legal actions, institutional advocacy, solemn calls: the law is our natural field of action.
03
We build bridges
Between bars, between continents, between generations, and between the judicial world and the business world.
04
We embody what we defend
All our members have exercised institutional power in their countries. They know what it means to govern. They also know what it costs, when you are a woman.
“We are only links in a chain — but we are determined to work for equality.”
Vanessa Bousardo
Founder of Bâtonnières du Monde
Join us · Support us
Bâtonnières du Monde belongs to you.
— Join us
You are a bâtonnière, or a vice-bâtonnière.
Currently serving or having previously served in these roles, at the head of a representative institution of the legal profession?
This collective was founded for you — and it can only grow thanks to you. Every voice that joins it broadens its reach, reinforces its legitimacy and brings equality closer to a concrete reality, in every State, in every bar.
— Support us
You share
our convictions.
Whether you are an individual, a company, a foundation or an institution: your support allows us to carry our voice further — within bar associations, institutions and public debates on an international scale.
Get in touch with us. We will get back to you as soon as possible.