Lady Hale discusses life in the law for First 100 Years project

In 2017, Lady Hale became the first woman to be appointed President of the UK Supreme Court.

A project documenting the journey of women in the profession, from 1919 to present day, the First 100 Years project, has uploaded a video featuring her before she took over the presidency of the court this year.

In the video, Lady Hale talks about her educational and professional experience, describing as her “proudest day” when she was sworn in as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary.

A trailblazer for women in law, the Supreme Court justice describes how she has been “first so many times in my life that it feels quite normal and natural”.

However, she adds: “But that’s quite normal and natural for my generation. There weren’t a lot of women in the law when I started in the law so it was pretty easy to be the first.

“I was in fact the second woman in the chambers that I joined in Manchester and I shall forever be grateful to the first because she didn’t put the others off me or anything like that whereas it has been known sometimes for the first woman not to want to be joined by any more.”

On the topic of feminism, she says: “I am definitely a feminist because I define feminist as being somebody that believes women are the equals of men and that their experience and perspective is as valid as the perspective of men and I think that’s a sort of soft feminism, obvious feminism really.”

She adds: “But I’m not the sort of feminist that doesn’t like men or value them or their perspective -

it’s equality I believe in.”

Watch the video here