Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high” said Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore in one of his beautiful poems in Gitanjali for which he was conferred upon the most prestigious award of the Globe- the Nobel Prize. In the poem he prayed for the country India to awake and fight for freedom struggle. But this poem also became very inspirational to the corporate women and other working women including the women legal professionals who withstood storms to find their niche, not only in India but in Asia too. Legal profession in Asia like other continents predominantly, was flocked by black robed men pleading for their clients or companies and safeguarding their interests. Even their assistants used to be guy with a jacket and cap or a turban. Asia, even today is an agrarian economy and the ideal women is still seen as the “Olan” of “Good Earth”. In the mid sixteenth century, as developments in education made way and with the influence of west through colonial rule, a bane turned into a blessing for all women in Asia. They began looking beyond the kitchen and the flower pots and took careers in hospitals, courts and council offices- slowly creeping into industry and finance. Slow and steady- the young women lawyer began to fight for her rights first and then for the world at large. In this way, breaking the spectrum of fear and being overshadowed by the male counterparts in her profession, she quietly conquered a significant space in the legal field.

Growth of women lawyers and general counsels has been phenomenal in the 20th century and still continues. If we see the composition of Association of Asian Women Lawyers, almost majority of them are Indians or of Indian origin. Cornelia Sorabji was the first female advocate from India when admitted to Allahabad High Court. She was the first female graduate from Bombay University, and in 1889 became the first woman to read law at Oxford University, and also the first Indian national to study at any British university. Later she became the first woman to practice law in India and Britain. Other significant women lawyers and general counsels in India are late Rani Jethmalani, Indira Jaisingh, Pallavi Shroff, Vandana Shroff, Zia Modi, K S Shere, Kalpana Morparia, just to name a few. In the judiciary we have had brilliant women justices namely, Justice Fathima Beevi, Justice Sujata Manohar, sitting Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Desai and many more.

While the above being the position in India, if we single out Asia, the story is still nascent and the footprints of the fair gender in the corporate legal field has just begun in the “Big Corporates”. In 2013, the number of women serving as General Counsel at the Fortune 1000 companies increased by three during the previous year, according to a new survey by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA). MCCA’s annual survey of Fortune 1000 women and minority General Counsel shows 189 women held the position of chief legal officer, three more than in the 2012 survey report. Other highlights from this new survey include:

• This is the third year in a row that the number of women GCs in the Fortune 500 has exceeded 100, even though that number decreased by three from the 2012 report.
• Women legal leaders are making strides in companies that have been traditionally male dominated — the so called “hard hat professions” such as aerospace and defense — and because of this increase, MCCA believes that their numbers will resume increasing across the most prosperous companies sooner rather than later.
• Minority women comprise 19 of the 105 general counsel of the Fortune 500, one more than a year ago. There are 11 African Americans, six Hispanics, and two Asian Americans.
• Of the 84 women general counsel in the Fortune 501-1000, seven are minorities: six African Americans and one Hispanic.
• However, it is concerning that there are only two women of Asian descent in the Fortune 500 and none in the Fortune 501- 1000. These two women are veteran employees of their companies and have appeared in previous MCCA Annual Surveys.

Asian women general counsels still need to make a big leap into the Fortune 1000 companies. The race has begun and is only becoming more interesting. On February 23, 2013, Steven R Strahler, a legal columnist and personnel wrote- why general counsel’s job is becoming a more woman’s work? Importance of the role of a general counsel is all about managing risks, yet being compliant and wearing too many hats to deal with various stakeholders. The role includes balancing act in a company which is akin to the “balancing act” at home, that a lady does dexterously. Women have started to pour into the corporate legal after topping law school courses. 40% of the law school outputs are women today and out of which 50% choose to pursue the inhouse counsel career. By 2014 year end, in countries like India, China, Singapore, Hongkong, Japan, Korea, companies see more and more women inhouse counsels though rising of such inhouse counsels to the position of the general counsel is still glacial.

In house women counsels in Asia are slowly learning to cope up with hard business and financial realities and also educating themselves well to battle out with the political and economic structures of their business groups and also the respective legal regimes in their countries. Thus, they have come out of the wraps of cute hood of “Little Red Riding” and are not willing to be devoured by the competition (wolf). Charles Perrault would definitely like to have a new story instead of the “Little Red Riding Hood.