NEWS RELEASE

3/12/02

Lisa Trei, News Service (650) 725-0224; e-mail: lisatrei@stanford.edu

Women lawyers continue to face obstacles in achieving equity, scholar asserts

Despite sweeping changes in the legal profession during the last two decades, women do not have equal access to positions of leadership and power, law Professor Deborah Rhode said Friday.

"About 30 percent of lawyers are women, but they represent only 15 percent of federal judges and law firm partners, and 10 percent of law school deans and general counsel positions at Fortune 500 companies," she said. Minority women are further underrepresented, she added. They account for 1 percent of corporate officers, and less than 1 percent of law firm partners.

Rhode spoke at the opening of a conference titled "Women and Leadership" before about 200 women, including many Law School alumni. The Law School and the American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession sponsored the daylong event, which coincided with International Women's Day. Rhode, the Ernest W. McFarland Professor of Law, was only the second female faculty member to join the Law School in 1979. She is chair of the ABA Commission on Women. The group's mission has been to identify why obstacles persist for female lawyers and how they can be overcome.

According to the commission's findings, gender inequalities in leadership are pervasive, but popular perceptions of inequality are not. "A widespread assumption is that barriers have been coming down, women have been moving up, and full equality is either upon us or just around the corner," Rhode said. "Only 3 percent of male lawyers think that prospects for advancement in the legal profession are greater for men than for women."

But the facts, as Rhode outlined in her opening statement, belie that notion. Furthermore, the common explanation that the problem is the "product of cultural lag" and that it is only a matter of time until "us girls catch up," Rhode said, does not explain the extent of underrepresentation ­ particularly when women have long made up one-third of people entering the field.

"Studies involving thousands of lawyers have found that men are at least twice as likely as similarly qualified women to obtain partnership," she said. "The pipeline leaks, and if we simply wait for time to correct the problem, we may be waiting a very long time."

Rhode said three issues continue to pose obstacles for women's advancement in the profession: traditional gender stereotypes, inadequate access to mentoring and inflexible workplace structures. These problems must be remedied, she stressed, if firms are to be successful in meeting the needs of their clients.

"In order to perform effectively in an increasingly competitive global environment, organizations need advisers with diverse backgrounds, experiences and styles of leadership," Rhode said. "Gender differences do make some difference, and they need to be registered in leadership positions."

Despite this, Rhode said, women who aspire to leadership roles face "double standards and double binds. They risk appearing too 'soft' or too 'strident,' too aggressive or not aggressive enough. What is assertive in a man is often viewed as abrasive in a woman." Studies show that women are rated lower when they adopt so-called "masculine," authoritative styles, she said, particularly when the evaluators are men.

Furthermore, women lawyers often lack a presumption of competence that is accorded to their male counterparts. "Women are held to higher standards; their competence is rated lower and they are less likely to be viewed as leaders," Rhode said.

Higher standards also apply to working mothers more than to working fathers. "Those who want extended leaves or reduced schedules appear lacking as professionals," she said. "Those who seem willing to sacrifice family needs to workplace schedules appear lacking as mothers. These mixed messages leave lots of women with the uncomfortable sense that whatever it is they're doing, they should be doing something else."

According to Rhode, women lack access to mentors and informal support networks. Given the demographics of upper-level positions, they will remain at a disadvantage until such issues are viewed as organizational responsibilities, she said.

Finally, workplace structures fail to accommodate family commitments, Rhode said, and a wide gap exists between formal policies and actual practices in law firms. "Over 90 percent of surveyed firms report policies permitting part-time schedules, yet only about 3 to 4 percent of lawyers actually [use] them. Most women believe, with some reason, that any reduction in hours or availability would jeopardize their prospects for advancement."

However, according to Rhode, research shows that part-time workers are more productive and that flexible arrangements save money in the long run by reducing absenteeism and attrition. "Balanced lives, in short, help bottom lines, and it's a failure to adequately do the math ... that accounts for the lag in workplace policies," she said.

The most effective way to ensure equal access to leadership opportunities is by institutionalizing such objectives into a firm's priorities, policies and reward structures, Rhode said. "Employers need to incorporate diversity goals into their business planning, gather information about persistent barriers and effective responses, and consider the structures that get in the way of women's opportunities," she said.

The conference included two plenary sessions that focused on persistent barriers to equal opportunity and the struggle for work-life balance. Discussions on exploring strategies to address these issues followed each session. An evening gala celebrating Stanford's female lawyers included an address by Christy A. Haubegger, founder of Latina magazine. Cheryl D. Mills, former senior vice president of Oxygen media and former White House Deputy Counsel, and Barbara A. Babcock, the Judge John Crown Professor of Law at Stanford, also spoke briefly.

More information on the ABA commission's findings are contained in The Unfinished Agenda: A Report on the Status of Women in the Legal Profession and Balanced Lives: Changing the Culture of Legal Practice. The reports are available online at www.abanet.org/women.

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By Lisa Trei