Soon, it will be:Bar of Females Only

Men, don't panic but women have virtually overtaken another bastion of male dominance- the legal system.

That fact was made starkly obvious last week when four women-Daina Matthew, Nadia Lando, Jodi Luke and Pearlisa Morvan- and one man, Kael London- were called to the Dominica Bar. On Tuesday another female dons her lawyerly robe for the first time.

That is not a situation that male lawyers have not noticed. According to data provided by the Dominica Bar Association, over ten years, from 2005 to 2014, sixty-two females were called to the Dominican Bar to 34 males; that's a ratio of two females to one male. But in recent times the situation has become more lopsided. For example: in 2014 (7 females-1male); 2013 (5 females,1 male); 2012 ( 7 females-4 males); 2011 ( 6 females-3 males).

Lawyer Kondwani Williams said the law profession has become female dominated with over 150 females to date.

"When I perused the list and I realized that Kael London was onboard it was somewhat a breath of fresh air since the profession has been engulfed by women," Williams said adding that that was not a bad thing as such. "Hurricane Maria exposed Dominica in a big way…and it forced me into self-examination and realized that we in a crisis situation."

Williams, speaking at the court session at the House of Assembly building, continued: "Our men were no longer pursuing the academic route and at the same time they were not even going into the technical field. To see a man now coming as a lawyer at this time when our men have been distracted and embraced idealness as a way out is indeed highly commendable".

"My Lady, it's sad to say, that our men have not only become unemployed but unemployable," Williams said addressing the female Judge. By the way there are two judges in Dominica- both are female.

Meantime, Mary Roberts, President of the Dominica Bar Association said: "The ascendancy of women is not unique to the law profession. If you start at persons sitting their common entrance exams, we see that the female population is more," she said. "We also see that women are excelling and we have to ask ourselves as adults in the society and as parents that our responsibility for the male seems to be failing.

"When I joined the law profession it was dominated by men but today it has become almost a woman's profession and if you look at people who are becoming doctors, engineers etc. it has been dominated now by women.

"Probably special attention needs to be placed at the education level where they need to bring men to achieve academically and also in the vocations where you need men to play a more meaningful role in our society."