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| Overview This section of AttorneyMentoring.com addresses challenges faced by women lawyers throughout their career. In addition to the same issues that men face in their career, many women lawyers seem to continue to encounter greater barriers in their career and more difficulty in balancing their personal and professional life. The New York Times recently featured an article on the decrease in the percentage of female partners among large firms and the departure of many women from the practice of law. Retention issues have always plagued the legal community, affecting both men and women, but recent statistics reflect ever increasing numbers of female lawyers choosing alternatives to partnership track, once considered the pinnacle of a legal career. We explore the reasons for this trend and provide resources and success stories to inspire and empower women to make better choices, whether it be to stay in law or to find alternatives. We encourage our visitors to check out our Work/Life Balance section while this section is being developed. |
| One Woman's View NP, the recently appointed General Counsel of a biopharmaceutical company and former Partner in a major law firm, based in New York City, was asked what were some of the challenges she faced as a woman in her legal career. She indicated that she had been "very fortunate" in that she faced few challenges as a result of being a woman. "That said, the biggest challenge was perhaps faced after I became a mother", continued NP. "Several of my co-workers had a difficult time seeing me as anything but a mom from that point on, which was very frustrating," she added. NP indicated that "Although it is difficult juggling a family and working full time it is very manageable if you have a good support system at home. That is not to say that it is a perfect situation. You constantly feel as if you are disappointing someone and it is hard to leave home when your children are asking when you will be home or why you can’t pick them up from school. Working full or part time or staying home is an individual decision that everyone must make for themselves. For me, it is the right decision despite some difficulties as I feel that I am acting as a positive role model for my children and I enjoy what I do. I love being a mother but I love my job as well. Of course there are times when I would prefer to be at home but I try and be as involved as I can in my children’s school and daily life." NP advises " to allow your husband or significant other to assist you with household duties (even if he won’t do them in the same manner that you would). Also, make sure you have a wonderful caregiver for your children. I would not be able to leave home if it were not for our wonderful caring nanny who my children adore. " |
| Reentry You chose to take some time to raise your kids and now you want to return to your job and find that it isn't that easy. Although it is a much more common circumstance and increasing numbers of female lawyers are returning after a few years off, it is nonetheless a difficult challenge. AttorneyMentoring.com features some advice from women who succeeded in successfully returning to the workforce, some in similar positions to the ones they previously held (some even going on to make Partner) while others creating new opportunities for themselves. Leave of Absence and Re-Entry: Persistence Brings Rewards We continue to read articles about the lack of female partners in law firms despite law school numbers balancing out between men and women. The New York Times recently published an article on why so few women reach the top at law firms. (reprinted at www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/19/business/web.0319obrien.php) While the reasons vary, they typically relate to the extraordinary time commitment required to achieve senior legal positions at law firms or elsewhere. Flextime, Comp Time, Part-time positions, Compressed work week, Telecommuting, Job-sharing and On-site child care are terms not often heard in law firm settings and even at progressive companies, these terms are not often applied to legal positions. When male and female lawyers take time off to raise their children, they often find it difficult to re-enter at the same level and with the same degree of responsibility as when they left. However, women seem to have a particularly difficult time of it. next |
| Resources ABA Commission on Women in the Profession MCCA Article on Alternative Work Arrangements |
| Noteworthy The National Law Journal recently reported that according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, pregnancy discrimination complaints have increased by 31 percent over the last decade, from 3,385 complaints in 1992 to 4,449 in 2005. During that same time period, prelitigation settlements have tripled, from $3.7 million to $11.6 million. _____________ A report by the Women's Law Association at Harvard Law School , “Presumed Equal: What America’s Top Women Lawyers Really Think About Their Firms,” details the results of a workplace satisfaction survey of approximately 4,000 women lawyers from 105 firms. The report ranked Chicago-based Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and New York-based Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as the top two firms to work at in the country, based upon diversity and work/life balance criteria. Click here for more details. |
| Tell Us: Do you feel that you were treated differently in your career after you had children? Please tell us your story. |
| Negotiating a Part-time or Reduced Hours Schedule Some places of employment have a flex-time or part-time work programs in place. Consequently, the first thing you should do is check your employee handbook and or contact your Human Resource Department to determine whether there is any formal program/procedures in place. If there is a program in place, you will likely be requested to submit a proposal to your manager or Partner. More often than not, in many law firms, there are no formal programs in place and you will know easily enough by counting how many lawyers are on a part-time or reduced schedule. Regardless of the number of part-timers, do not assume that such a schedule is unavailable to you with the right plan. First assess your client's needs and determine what kind of schedule would work best to serve their needs. Then, assess your needs and desires, to see how the two can be merged. Create a proposal that addresses the client's needs and how you expect to manage those needs on a reduced timetable. Flexibility is often key here. Rigidly insisting on being off specific days of the week without any contact with the office is probably not reasonable for many legal practice areas. If you can be flexible and come in for important client meetings and other events, you will more likely succeed. This may not work, however, if you have childcare issues and are restricted to specific free days. In that case, you might consider whether your present practice area or employer is suited to a part-time schedule or whether you might need to change your area of practice to a less time-sensitive practice or change your employer to a more flex-time friendly environment. Most employers will seek to keep you in some capacity especially if you show some flexibility and address their need to serve their clients. Additional considerations:
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| Women at Large In the United States, 38% of all businesses are owned by women. _____________ Only 12.5% of the executive positions in US "Fortune" 500 publicly traded companies are held by women. Only two "Fortune" 500 companies have women CEOs or presidents, and 90 of those 500 companies don’t have any women corporate officers. _____________ Between 1992 and 1997, the number of women- owned firms in the United States increased two-and-a-half times faster than businesses in general. Yet of the nearly 8 million women- owned businesses, only 1% have used venture- capital funding. |
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| The US is reportedly 1 of only 5 countries out of 173 studied in the world that does not guaranty paid maternity leave according to an Inc Magazine article reporting on a recent McGill University Institute for Health and Social Policy Study. Click here to review article and click here to read study. |
| Two Books on the Feminine Brain The Female Brain by Louann Brisendine, MD Did you know that women use approximately 20,000 words per day versus men's 7,000? A woman remembers fights that a man doesn't. Well, if you want to read more, check out The Feminine Brain by Dr. Bridendine. The New Feminine Brain by Mona Lisa Schulz, MD, PhD A great book on the feminine brain and intuition and health which explains the different hormonal effects on women's emotions and health and provides recommendations to support wellness. Dr. Schulz is a a board certified neuropsychiatrist, neuroscientist and medical intuitive and the author of several books. You can also hear her on Hay House Radio. |