Why do the other members of the law firm not call the lady barristers by their name (first, or last) but call them miss, but not the same for the men (replaced with sir I suppose). I assume miss is supposed to be some sort of curtsey but it seems ruder to me.
shareI don't know where you are from, but in Britain, professional women (historically) used to have to give up their jobs when they got married. Therefore all women, in the professional work place would have been a 'miss' as opposed to a 'ma'am'.
The title has just stuck for some reason. Same in schools- all female teachers are called 'miss' irrespective of their marital status.
Odd, I know, but there you go.
Oh thanks! I'm from Australia btw.
shareMy female teachers used to try and fight it, and tried to be called "Mrs Smith", "Miss Jones" or whatever, as they'd had to struggle hard to get the right to work when married. Lost the battle it seems, as my kids still call them all "Miss" and refer to them that way.
We get these odd conversations:- No1 Son: "Miss said...." Me: "Miss Who?" No1 Son: "Mrs Smith."
But in most professional workplaces, it is either much less formal and all first names, or you just get a neutral title like "Dr."
When I was at secondary school thirty years ago, several of the female teachers objected to being addressed as "Miss". It was mainly when used in a 'can you come over to my desk and help me' call of "Miiiiiiiss". Some used to say, "My name is Miss/Mrs Blogs" others, "For God's sake, don't call me that!"
I'm pretty sure that most women teachers today dislike it, although as you say, it is still going strong!
I was surprised the original poster was Australian: I teach in Japan and one lad who had just returned from a year in Australia called me "Miss". This amused me and made a change from my name or "sensei".
I think the historical angle is the underlying cause as you say. I think in addition if you have built up a name for yourself then changing your name on marriage could be damaging to your 'brand' so many women solicitors and barristers persist in their maiden name after marriage (a prime example being Mrs Tony Blair who is known as Cherie Booth QC).
Plus there is the inconvenience, again for historical reasons, of the multiple titles for women as opposed to the single Mr for men. Making it 'Miss' for all is much easier for the other Court personel. Trying to remember people's names is hard enough, let alone their marrital status; and one wouldn't want your queries to be misconstrued!
I think the most important point nowadays is simple practicality. As konrad_higgins mentioned, people who work in court have to deal with so many different people every single day. It's just easier to call all women who work there "Miss".