According to a survey conducted by The Women in Law Committee of the State Bar of California there is a subtle but ever present gender bias toward women in the legal profession. They found that 85% of women felt this bias and 2 out of 3 women felt that they were not accepted as equals by their peers. In law firms where there were more females present, there was also a greater feeling of gender fairness. Minority female lawyers felt that they were subjected to bias for both their race and gender and they called it the “double bias.” Only 55% said they would prefer to work with female lawyers and 62% did not believe they had the opportunity for advancement. Women reported experiencing a negative bias very frequently; 76% from opposing counsel, 64% from clients, 48% from superiors and 43% from peers.
Those who could not deal with these biases left the firms; reportedly 35% left for this reason and 38% stayed because they felt it would not be better anywhere else. Making this move, however, maintains the status quo and the road to equality becomes prolonged. Instead, some advice for women about the gender expectations and stereotypes could be to just leave firms that are overtly discriminatory and join one that practices diversified hiring and promoting strategies. Companies that don’t value diversity will learn that their practices are wrong and will realize it when all of the women lawyers have left to join other firms. Also firms that practice the hiring and promoting of women and minorities are often more successful than those that don’t.
http://www.lectlaw.com/files/att06.htm
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Blog 39 Organization Initiatives for a Better Future
There are many organization initiatives that need to occur before work/life can be balanced among men and women. For example moving the fight against gender issues from the individual standpoint to an organizational one can be a great solution and strategy. Sometimes taking initiative on the organizational level is what it takes to create positive change. It can be argued big companies have no interest is promoting equality because there is nothing in it for them but this is incorrect. For example, if a company strives to hire equal amounts of men and women and remove “glass ceiling” practices, this company will be viewed in a positive light for doing the right thing and these are the kinds of companies that have solidarity within the business and gain a reputation for being the best (English, 2003).
Changes at the organizational level also include responsibilities that the workplace has for providing what is best for their employees in order to get the best results. The best example of this is maternity leave. For years it was argues that issues with the home are not issues of the workplace, but now it seems impractical and ridiculous to ignore recurring aspects of the home life that will interfere with work such as pregnancy. It would be the collective effort of the employee and employer to demand and provide healthcare as a way to be a solid team who looks out for each other’s interests, not against each other (English, 2003).
It is also in everyone’s best interest to be honest with each other about their underlying attitudes. This means that if someone has an issue with someone else concerning gender issues, it is best to air it out and openly discuss the problems so they do not happen again or to reach an agreement. Issues with male versus female, dominant versus submissive personalities should not be ignored. If someone works best in their gender stereotype, let it be and visa versa. This includes beliefs about parenting. For example, if a mother wants to put in several hours a week, or very few, that is her choice and the same goes for fathers who choose to stay home and raise their children (English, 2003).
Changes at the organizational level also include responsibilities that the workplace has for providing what is best for their employees in order to get the best results. The best example of this is maternity leave. For years it was argues that issues with the home are not issues of the workplace, but now it seems impractical and ridiculous to ignore recurring aspects of the home life that will interfere with work such as pregnancy. It would be the collective effort of the employee and employer to demand and provide healthcare as a way to be a solid team who looks out for each other’s interests, not against each other (English, 2003).
It is also in everyone’s best interest to be honest with each other about their underlying attitudes. This means that if someone has an issue with someone else concerning gender issues, it is best to air it out and openly discuss the problems so they do not happen again or to reach an agreement. Issues with male versus female, dominant versus submissive personalities should not be ignored. If someone works best in their gender stereotype, let it be and visa versa. This includes beliefs about parenting. For example, if a mother wants to put in several hours a week, or very few, that is her choice and the same goes for fathers who choose to stay home and raise their children (English, 2003).
Blog 38 Constance Baker Motely
Constance Baker Motley wanted to become a lawyer at a young age and although she faced much opposition, she chose to follow her dreams. She went to law school following the Great Depression, with very, very few women in her classes and even less who were minorities. Her graduating class was filled with remarkable women; first woman district attorney, women elected to congress, and a New York Supreme court Judge.
Her significance to the profession of law is that she is a role model for minority women to look up to and follow in her footsteps. One of NPR clips described that more women will climb the ranks of law firms if they have someone to look up to and aspire to. Constance Baker Motely became that woman for the countless females who followed her lead and pursued a career that was not typical, and not very acceptable for a women at the time.
http://library.law.columbia.edu/rise_of_women/judiciary/baker_motley.html
Her significance to the profession of law is that she is a role model for minority women to look up to and follow in her footsteps. One of NPR clips described that more women will climb the ranks of law firms if they have someone to look up to and aspire to. Constance Baker Motely became that woman for the countless females who followed her lead and pursued a career that was not typical, and not very acceptable for a women at the time.
http://library.law.columbia.edu/rise_of_women/judiciary/baker_motley.html
Blog 37
The report, Charting Our Progress, by the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession, had similar findings and recommendations as English showed in her study Gender on Trial. First of all both studies found that men and women lawyers experience stereotypes about woman lawyers being overly aggressive or overly emotional. As we know this is called the double bind, which English describes the dilemma that women lawyers face in taking on leadership styles than are either too feminine or too masculine and this causes their perceptions to be aggressive or emotional.
Both studies discussed the issues women lawyers face with the competency bias. In the book several clients and opposing attorneys showed overt and subtle discrimination against women who they viewed as too soft or “ill-equipped” to practice law, as The ABA commission states. This chart described to competency biases occurring for not only females but also minority females, who may join the workforce at a disadvantage because they lack “the social and professional contacts needed to develop a client base.”
These works both discussed the difficulties in balancing work and life. The chart discusses the repercussions that lawyers have of being part time worker in order to try to balance their work and family life. In the text these repercussions can be that their coworkers will view them as not committed and that they will feel guilty for not being there 100%. The recommendations that English makes for this issue in particular is to change the expectations of required what is required in order to make a good lawyer. This can be achieved by perhaps allowing for more flexible schedules or reduced hours, across the board. She also recommends that people should be more open to new ideas to step outside of gender roles and stereotypes.
Britton, D. M. (2003). At Waork in the Iron Cage: The Prison as Gendered
Organization . New York and London: The New York University Press.
http://www.abanet.org/women/ChartingOurProgress.pdf
Both studies discussed the issues women lawyers face with the competency bias. In the book several clients and opposing attorneys showed overt and subtle discrimination against women who they viewed as too soft or “ill-equipped” to practice law, as The ABA commission states. This chart described to competency biases occurring for not only females but also minority females, who may join the workforce at a disadvantage because they lack “the social and professional contacts needed to develop a client base.”
These works both discussed the difficulties in balancing work and life. The chart discusses the repercussions that lawyers have of being part time worker in order to try to balance their work and family life. In the text these repercussions can be that their coworkers will view them as not committed and that they will feel guilty for not being there 100%. The recommendations that English makes for this issue in particular is to change the expectations of required what is required in order to make a good lawyer. This can be achieved by perhaps allowing for more flexible schedules or reduced hours, across the board. She also recommends that people should be more open to new ideas to step outside of gender roles and stereotypes.
Britton, D. M. (2003). At Waork in the Iron Cage: The Prison as Gendered
Organization . New York and London: The New York University Press.
http://www.abanet.org/women/ChartingOurProgress.pdf
Blog 35 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The Equal Opportunity Commission issued a document pertaining to what the best practices should be in regards to the family and work balances. It serves two purposes; the first is to promote anti-discrimination laws in the workplace and the second is to find ways to adapt policies that will help employers exceed the legal minimum requirements. So by promoting anti-discrimination law they are also advocating for new ways to implement these laws in ways that surpass the minimum expectations of what is appropriate and inappropriate.
The EEOC It draws attention to the status of employers as more than workers, but also caregivers. These caregivers can be both female and male and it is important to bring this matter to the forefront because many only think of women as the caregivers. This perception is what creates negative stereotypes and lack of social progress towards equality. The sooner we come to realize that men too are caregivers, the sooner we will be able to find a solution to future problems that will arise in terms of the economic recession.
For example, men who work in industries that are getting hit hard by the recession are the ones losing their jobs. This means that their roles might reverse from breadwinner to caregivers. At the same time this means that the number of women in the workforce will increase. The bottom line is that the overlap between women’s rights and caregivers rights needs to be addressed for the sake of both males and females and the economic stability of this nation.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/grossman/20090512.html
The EEOC It draws attention to the status of employers as more than workers, but also caregivers. These caregivers can be both female and male and it is important to bring this matter to the forefront because many only think of women as the caregivers. This perception is what creates negative stereotypes and lack of social progress towards equality. The sooner we come to realize that men too are caregivers, the sooner we will be able to find a solution to future problems that will arise in terms of the economic recession.
For example, men who work in industries that are getting hit hard by the recession are the ones losing their jobs. This means that their roles might reverse from breadwinner to caregivers. At the same time this means that the number of women in the workforce will increase. The bottom line is that the overlap between women’s rights and caregivers rights needs to be addressed for the sake of both males and females and the economic stability of this nation.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/grossman/20090512.html
Blog 34 Unbending Gender and Gender on Trial
Joan Williams’ book title “unbending gender” relates two different trends, the first is that as a nation we have experienced a lot less progress toward gender equality than we had hoped for, and second is that the changes that have been made have not been based on androgyny but on preserving the differences between males and females. Based on this material, there are several parallels to the work/life balances described in Gender on Trial including refusal to work for a firm that is not family orientated and the conflicts that arise with notions of an “ideal worker” and a “part-timer” and the experiences of men.
Williams talks about how women leave the workplace as a form of resistance to a work culture that makes it difficult to raise children. Women lawyers are faced with this issue every day, especially women who are perceived as “suspect mothers” (2003: 230) who have to constantly worried about whether their choice to stay in a firm was the right one. They have to asses if it is worth the hassle of staying with a company that makes it difficult to raise children; shouldn’t they work for an employer who has their best interests at heart? They can choose to opt out like the women who went and started their own firm and rejected the work culture that made it difficult for them to achieve their goals.
Many women don’t see their goal as becoming as “ideal” worker. The term “ideal worker” is used in Williams’ book and is defined as someone who is able to work for 40 years straight and takes no time off for child bearing. This obviously suits men and not women because men can’t have children and don’t need time off unless they fall ill or chose to be stay at home dads which is rare. This is described in the “Real Workers don’t work Part-time” chapter of the Holly English study. Women who are given part time work are considered less competent and less committed that the full timers. Part timers feel underappreciated and guilty for feeling like they don’t contribute enough. The desire to be the ideal worker, as Williams describes it, but the responsibilities of the home are just too great to balance full time in both realms.
Finally, both authors describe how men also feel the strains in trying to balance a work/life balance. In both works, men describe how they feel the pressure of trying to be the breadwinner but also the pressures of trying to be a good father. Many men, according to Williams, think that he sheer time value and other work requirements that an “ideal worker” needs to posses are just too demanding and they would trade off this working time for more time with their family any day.
Britton, D. M. (2003). At Waork in the Iron Cage: The Prison as Gendered
Organization . New York and London: The New York University Press.
Williams, Joan. (2000)Unbending Gender: Why Family and Work Conflict and What To Do About It. Oxford University Press.
Williams talks about how women leave the workplace as a form of resistance to a work culture that makes it difficult to raise children. Women lawyers are faced with this issue every day, especially women who are perceived as “suspect mothers” (2003: 230) who have to constantly worried about whether their choice to stay in a firm was the right one. They have to asses if it is worth the hassle of staying with a company that makes it difficult to raise children; shouldn’t they work for an employer who has their best interests at heart? They can choose to opt out like the women who went and started their own firm and rejected the work culture that made it difficult for them to achieve their goals.
Many women don’t see their goal as becoming as “ideal” worker. The term “ideal worker” is used in Williams’ book and is defined as someone who is able to work for 40 years straight and takes no time off for child bearing. This obviously suits men and not women because men can’t have children and don’t need time off unless they fall ill or chose to be stay at home dads which is rare. This is described in the “Real Workers don’t work Part-time” chapter of the Holly English study. Women who are given part time work are considered less competent and less committed that the full timers. Part timers feel underappreciated and guilty for feeling like they don’t contribute enough. The desire to be the ideal worker, as Williams describes it, but the responsibilities of the home are just too great to balance full time in both realms.
Finally, both authors describe how men also feel the strains in trying to balance a work/life balance. In both works, men describe how they feel the pressure of trying to be the breadwinner but also the pressures of trying to be a good father. Many men, according to Williams, think that he sheer time value and other work requirements that an “ideal worker” needs to posses are just too demanding and they would trade off this working time for more time with their family any day.
Britton, D. M. (2003). At Waork in the Iron Cage: The Prison as Gendered
Organization . New York and London: The New York University Press.
Williams, Joan. (2000)Unbending Gender: Why Family and Work Conflict and What To Do About It. Oxford University Press.
Blog 36 Can corporate America lure the women back into the workforce?
There should be more women in top positions…but unfortunately there is not. This matter is discussed in Talk of the Nation concerning whether or not corporations could lure women back into the workforce. Personally, I don’t think that corporate America can lure women back into the top positions in the workforce because women will always put their family before their work, no matter what. Studies show that women experience the values vs. control dilemma, which means that they have to have a balance between their values and the control they have over exercising those values.
So for example if a women has no control over the amount of hours she has to work, she is sacrificing her family which she values more, which is am impediment to her desire to reach a higher position. This is a problem for many women because the top positions usually require being on call and to prioritize the company over their own lives. Corporations do a type of “hazing” to new top executives by over working them in order to asses how committed they are to their company. In fact, America is the most overworked industrialized country in the world; working over 500 hours more per year than in Germany.
No woman who values her family and the control she has over spending time with that family will choose to be in a top position that is so demanding. The only ways that women will be lured into corporate America is that if these women have a strong support system or if the rules of corporate America change. A strong support system, for example can be like having a stay at home dad to take care of the children so the woman can be free to pursue their careers because she can rest assured that her their family is being taken care of. Also, if rules for corporate America change by being less demanding and requiring less working hours per year then women could stay in top positions longer.
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=5&prgDate=1-27-2004
So for example if a women has no control over the amount of hours she has to work, she is sacrificing her family which she values more, which is am impediment to her desire to reach a higher position. This is a problem for many women because the top positions usually require being on call and to prioritize the company over their own lives. Corporations do a type of “hazing” to new top executives by over working them in order to asses how committed they are to their company. In fact, America is the most overworked industrialized country in the world; working over 500 hours more per year than in Germany.
No woman who values her family and the control she has over spending time with that family will choose to be in a top position that is so demanding. The only ways that women will be lured into corporate America is that if these women have a strong support system or if the rules of corporate America change. A strong support system, for example can be like having a stay at home dad to take care of the children so the woman can be free to pursue their careers because she can rest assured that her their family is being taken care of. Also, if rules for corporate America change by being less demanding and requiring less working hours per year then women could stay in top positions longer.
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=5&prgDate=1-27-2004
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