Doncaster lawyer recognised in Inspirational Women in Law award

Gemma Pesce, a Chartered Legal Executive Lawyer and Senior Claims Handler at Doncaster Council, has been recognised in the First 100 Years' Inspirational Women in Law Award.

The First 100 Years is a ground-breaking history project, charting the journey of women in law since 1919. It was created by Dana Denis-Smith, CEO of Obelisk Support, and is supported by the Law Society and the Bar Council.

The project is powered by Spark21, a charity founded to celebrate, inform and inspire future generation of women in the profession.

In 2019 the project will mark the centenary of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 which paved the way for women to become lawyers for the first time. It is running the award annually until then.

The award scheme was looking for the brightest stories from the next generation of lawyers, to be included in the First 100 Years video library.

Doncaster’s Pesce received her finalist diploma from the Lord Chancellor, Liz Truss, at a ceremony last month and will become an ambassador for the project.

The judging panel included Baroness Cohen, Sean Jones QC, Monica Burch and Susan Belgrave. The panel were given anonymised versions of the entries, and a set of impartial criteria to judge by.

Pesce said: "Being chosen as a finalist was a real honour and I felt a great sense of achievement. I have always taken great pride in my career in law, it's not been an easy journey, but everything I have achieved is down to hard work and sheer determination.

"I believe the First 100 Years Campaign will inspire women to stand together and unite against diversity, discrimination, and sexism. I am proud to be associated with this fantastic campaign, let's make women feel liberated and make history."

Denis-Smith said: "People don't know their history - who the first woman solicitor was, for instance. There is no archive like the First 100 Years to help us place ourselves in history."