Blog 37
“Charting Our Progress” is a report released by the American Bar Association. In this report, the ABA states that, even though we all wish it would, time will not remedy the problem of under-representation of female lawyers. English agrees with this point and states that we must work to get rid of the gender gap ourselves. It is not something that will just go away on its own.
One big problem is the old school male attorneys. They were very much against the idea of women beginning to practice law. However, their reasons were not necessarily that they just did not want women practicing. Some felt that females were not strong enough to deal with practicing law. They tend to say that women are too nurturing to be good attorneys. However, this seems to make them better because their clients tend to believe them quicker than they do male attorneys.
It is also believed that women should not practice law because they lost too much time having to take care of their family. My answer to this is that the game of practicing law be slowed down. Also, concessions can be made to alleviate this problem.
Many female lawyers find it necessary to work part time. This is felt to be a big problem. They are then viewed as not being serious about their profession. Perhaps if the husbands would help with the family more, wives could commit more time to their profession.
In spite of old school male attorneys not being crazy about letting women into the field, the number of women going to law school increased from twenty-two percent in 1988 to forty-seven percent in 2003. Also, Fortune 500 companies that had female attorneys as their general counsel rose from 5.9 percent of the companies to 23.1 percent. I feel both of these increases are pretty substantial. (Word Count – 309)
Monday, December 14, 2009
Blog 36
Blog 36
Yes, I believe corporate America can lure women back into the workforce, but corporate America is going to have to change their ways in order to accomplish this. For far too long, women have been the ones on the short end of the stick in the workforce. Women must be paid the same as their male counterparts. If a woman is doing the same job as a man, then the pay must be the same.
Another big need for women in the workforce (and men, as well) is the option of a reasonable flex schedule. I say men as well because, if they are the caregiver, they need the same options. Let’s say the lady is fairly new in her job. She is not going to have much sick time built up yet. In fact, in many companies, you cannot take sick time or vacation time for up to six months after starting the job. This needs to change. Those receiving our care do not wait till we are able to take sick time or have the sick time built up. In other words, sickness does not take a holiday.
Something else that would help lure women would be flex scheduling regardless of whether they are caregivers or not. With fuel costs so unstable and the possible long distances people may have to drive to their places of employment, being able to work from home a day or two per week or even more would definitely help lure women back. I know of one lady who is in a low paying job right now and drives over sixty miles roundtrip to work each day. She makes just barely enough money to pay for her gasoline. She works in daycare, so she obviously could not work flex time from home, but working something like four ten hour days would help.
Offering day care at the place of employment or very nearby at either no cost or a drastically reduced cost would be a wonderful lure. Today’s child care costs make it cheaper in a lot of cases for women not to work.
Instituting these policies would definitely lure a lot more women back to the workforce. Women like to be made to feel they have something to offer just like men do, so let’s get them in the workforce. (Word Count – 388)
Yes, I believe corporate America can lure women back into the workforce, but corporate America is going to have to change their ways in order to accomplish this. For far too long, women have been the ones on the short end of the stick in the workforce. Women must be paid the same as their male counterparts. If a woman is doing the same job as a man, then the pay must be the same.
Another big need for women in the workforce (and men, as well) is the option of a reasonable flex schedule. I say men as well because, if they are the caregiver, they need the same options. Let’s say the lady is fairly new in her job. She is not going to have much sick time built up yet. In fact, in many companies, you cannot take sick time or vacation time for up to six months after starting the job. This needs to change. Those receiving our care do not wait till we are able to take sick time or have the sick time built up. In other words, sickness does not take a holiday.
Something else that would help lure women would be flex scheduling regardless of whether they are caregivers or not. With fuel costs so unstable and the possible long distances people may have to drive to their places of employment, being able to work from home a day or two per week or even more would definitely help lure women back. I know of one lady who is in a low paying job right now and drives over sixty miles roundtrip to work each day. She makes just barely enough money to pay for her gasoline. She works in daycare, so she obviously could not work flex time from home, but working something like four ten hour days would help.
Offering day care at the place of employment or very nearby at either no cost or a drastically reduced cost would be a wonderful lure. Today’s child care costs make it cheaper in a lot of cases for women not to work.
Instituting these policies would definitely lure a lot more women back to the workforce. Women like to be made to feel they have something to offer just like men do, so let’s get them in the workforce. (Word Count – 388)
Blog 35
Blog 35
I, for one, was absolutely thrilled to see the new policies set forth by the EEOC. The new policies apply to those people termed as caregivers. They can be a caregiver to any family member. I believe these policies are very important to both men and women. Some may cite their importance because females are the caregivers. I will, however, disagree with this. I, as a male, was a caregiver to my elderly parents for fourteen years. Whenever I had to take off work to take them to a doctor’s appointment or take care of some other matter for them, I had to use vacation or sick time. This was unfortunate. This, again, is somewhere where flexible work schedules would be great. If someone had to miss work for something like this, it would be great if they could somehow make up the time. People in the situation I was in do not always have the sick time or vacation to cover all the time they might have to take off. This is where these new policies will help.
Another reason this is so important is because current statistics show that 46 percent of today’s workforce is female. Since women seem to be the ones that carry the burden of taking care of sick children, they need this coverage. Another reason this is so important is because I heard a news story on TV this past week that said that more than half the population will be over age 65 in not too many years.
The one thing that worries me about this is compliance by all the companies in the United States. I feel confident that there will be companies that will somehow manage to find a loophole so they do not have to adhere to these new policies. These are the companies that do not really care about their employees. (Word Count - 312)
I, for one, was absolutely thrilled to see the new policies set forth by the EEOC. The new policies apply to those people termed as caregivers. They can be a caregiver to any family member. I believe these policies are very important to both men and women. Some may cite their importance because females are the caregivers. I will, however, disagree with this. I, as a male, was a caregiver to my elderly parents for fourteen years. Whenever I had to take off work to take them to a doctor’s appointment or take care of some other matter for them, I had to use vacation or sick time. This was unfortunate. This, again, is somewhere where flexible work schedules would be great. If someone had to miss work for something like this, it would be great if they could somehow make up the time. People in the situation I was in do not always have the sick time or vacation to cover all the time they might have to take off. This is where these new policies will help.
Another reason this is so important is because current statistics show that 46 percent of today’s workforce is female. Since women seem to be the ones that carry the burden of taking care of sick children, they need this coverage. Another reason this is so important is because I heard a news story on TV this past week that said that more than half the population will be over age 65 in not too many years.
The one thing that worries me about this is compliance by all the companies in the United States. I feel confident that there will be companies that will somehow manage to find a loophole so they do not have to adhere to these new policies. These are the companies that do not really care about their employees. (Word Count - 312)
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Blog 34
Blog 34
Joan Williams in her articles and blog and Holly English in Gender on Trial both deal with something at length. That is latch key kids. The story of the 31 year old man from the Midwest is excellent in how he tells his employer that he will be gone from the office if things don’t change around there. He is telling his employer that he either is able to work a normal week and spend time with his family, or he will no longer be working there. This is a great picture of a man getting his priorities straight and realizing that his family comes first. If more men, and women for that matter, started all standing up to their employers in this way, I feel we would see a great deal of change in working conditions.
Something else very interesting out of the Williams material was the new idea that mothers are now coming to the conclusion that they should work harder when the children are younger and be home with them more as they get older. Childcare today is no longer just a babysitting service—the children are really being taught things from infancy on up. By the mothers working during this time and being home when the children get older, the children can learn a great deal in daycare including their social skills.
One thing that stuck out to me in Gender on Trial is how employment practices are really designed around the idea that a man will work forty or more hours per week and not worry about his family. This ideal has already done a great deal to destroy the family unit and, if not stopped, will totally destroy the family. What is even worse is how many women are now included in these employment practices.
I firmly believe that we, as a nation, are about to change our culture as it regards employment. We are going to see men not having to work as many hours. We are going to see men be able to drop everything to be able to go take care of a sick child. We are going to see a resurgence of the family as it was forty or more years ago.
Proof that this can happen lies in the major accomplishments we as a country have experienced over the last twelve months. We seriously considered having a female as our president. We also seriously considered having a female as vice president. Major changes are just around the corner. We did elect an African-American male to be our President.
We saw a resurgence in the number of people going to church eight years ago after the 9-11 catastrophes in New York and Pennsylvania. Our people know change is needed on many fronts and, I believe, those changes are just around the corner. (Word Count – 472)
Joan Williams in her articles and blog and Holly English in Gender on Trial both deal with something at length. That is latch key kids. The story of the 31 year old man from the Midwest is excellent in how he tells his employer that he will be gone from the office if things don’t change around there. He is telling his employer that he either is able to work a normal week and spend time with his family, or he will no longer be working there. This is a great picture of a man getting his priorities straight and realizing that his family comes first. If more men, and women for that matter, started all standing up to their employers in this way, I feel we would see a great deal of change in working conditions.
Something else very interesting out of the Williams material was the new idea that mothers are now coming to the conclusion that they should work harder when the children are younger and be home with them more as they get older. Childcare today is no longer just a babysitting service—the children are really being taught things from infancy on up. By the mothers working during this time and being home when the children get older, the children can learn a great deal in daycare including their social skills.
One thing that stuck out to me in Gender on Trial is how employment practices are really designed around the idea that a man will work forty or more hours per week and not worry about his family. This ideal has already done a great deal to destroy the family unit and, if not stopped, will totally destroy the family. What is even worse is how many women are now included in these employment practices.
I firmly believe that we, as a nation, are about to change our culture as it regards employment. We are going to see men not having to work as many hours. We are going to see men be able to drop everything to be able to go take care of a sick child. We are going to see a resurgence of the family as it was forty or more years ago.
Proof that this can happen lies in the major accomplishments we as a country have experienced over the last twelve months. We seriously considered having a female as our president. We also seriously considered having a female as vice president. Major changes are just around the corner. We did elect an African-American male to be our President.
We saw a resurgence in the number of people going to church eight years ago after the 9-11 catastrophes in New York and Pennsylvania. Our people know change is needed on many fronts and, I believe, those changes are just around the corner. (Word Count – 472)
Blog 33
Blog 33
We all believe that women have made fantastic strides in the legal profession. To the naked eye, it looks like they have. However, a 2008 study by the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) shows that female attorneys still do not get the same caliber positions as male attorneys do. The women are still bypassed for management positions or partner positions in the law firms of today. I believe it is just a short matter of time till we see women as firm partners and managers, but it has not happened yet on a large scale. I think part of the reason for this is because there are still a lot of “old school” male lawyers in practice that still do not believe women can effectively practice law. Once this “old school” mentality is out of the firms, I believe we will see women advance much more rapidly.
Seeing Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O’Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court showed that progress is definitely being made in the area of women and law, but there is still a long way to go. Where women attorneys have come from is phenomenal, though. I think of how Sandra Day O’Connor said in her NPR interview that she tried hard to get a position in a firm when she got out of college. People would continually tell her they had no openings. There was one firm she really wanted to work for. The head of that firm had once had a woman lawyer. After he told her once that he had no opening and also no where to house her, she went back home and wrote him a letter explaining how much she wanted to work there. She did finally get the job, but shared a room with one of the secretaries. One of the partners in the firm was the attorney general in 1981 that recruited her to the Supreme Court, William French Smith. (Word Count – 324)
We all believe that women have made fantastic strides in the legal profession. To the naked eye, it looks like they have. However, a 2008 study by the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) shows that female attorneys still do not get the same caliber positions as male attorneys do. The women are still bypassed for management positions or partner positions in the law firms of today. I believe it is just a short matter of time till we see women as firm partners and managers, but it has not happened yet on a large scale. I think part of the reason for this is because there are still a lot of “old school” male lawyers in practice that still do not believe women can effectively practice law. Once this “old school” mentality is out of the firms, I believe we will see women advance much more rapidly.
Seeing Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O’Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court showed that progress is definitely being made in the area of women and law, but there is still a long way to go. Where women attorneys have come from is phenomenal, though. I think of how Sandra Day O’Connor said in her NPR interview that she tried hard to get a position in a firm when she got out of college. People would continually tell her they had no openings. There was one firm she really wanted to work for. The head of that firm had once had a woman lawyer. After he told her once that he had no opening and also no where to house her, she went back home and wrote him a letter explaining how much she wanted to work there. She did finally get the job, but shared a room with one of the secretaries. One of the partners in the firm was the attorney general in 1981 that recruited her to the Supreme Court, William French Smith. (Word Count – 324)
Blog 32
Blog 32
When we think of lawyers, we think of people who seem to work all the time, usually males. We see lawyers in court, visiting with clients, and pouring over books and papers at the office all day. Then they go home and, if the family is lucky, he might sit down to supper with them, then give them all a quick kiss, and proceed to his study or home office to pour over papers and books till possibly the wee hours of the morning. He doesn’t worry about getting the children off to school in the morning, taking care of them if they get sick, or running the household.
Now, think about a woman lawyer that has children. We see her getting the kids ready for school in the morning, maybe taking them to school herself, and then going to work. She gets to work later than she should and gets busy. A couple of hours into the day, she gets a call from school that one of the kids is sick so she must leave and go take care of that child. That is the end of her work day at the office already. She is the one that runs the household. Additionally, she may clean the house, do the laundry, and do the grocery shopping.
Then we have the high power female attorney who has children. People look at her and wonder how she achieves so much as an attorney, supposedly has a great life with her husband and kids, and never seems to slow down. She is considered a suspect parent. What those considering her suspect may not know is that her office provides for things such a flex schedules or child care at the office where she can pop in and see her kids every so often. (Word Count – 301)
When we think of lawyers, we think of people who seem to work all the time, usually males. We see lawyers in court, visiting with clients, and pouring over books and papers at the office all day. Then they go home and, if the family is lucky, he might sit down to supper with them, then give them all a quick kiss, and proceed to his study or home office to pour over papers and books till possibly the wee hours of the morning. He doesn’t worry about getting the children off to school in the morning, taking care of them if they get sick, or running the household.
Now, think about a woman lawyer that has children. We see her getting the kids ready for school in the morning, maybe taking them to school herself, and then going to work. She gets to work later than she should and gets busy. A couple of hours into the day, she gets a call from school that one of the kids is sick so she must leave and go take care of that child. That is the end of her work day at the office already. She is the one that runs the household. Additionally, she may clean the house, do the laundry, and do the grocery shopping.
Then we have the high power female attorney who has children. People look at her and wonder how she achieves so much as an attorney, supposedly has a great life with her husband and kids, and never seems to slow down. She is considered a suspect parent. What those considering her suspect may not know is that her office provides for things such a flex schedules or child care at the office where she can pop in and see her kids every so often. (Word Count – 301)
Blog 31
Blog 31
From everything I have watched, listened to, and read whether connected with this class or not, it seems that an equitable balance between work and family is very hard to achieve regardless of the profession. From what we have learned in this class, I would say it is next to impossible in the field of law. And really, I don’t think I mean just lawyers. I think it is the same way for many law enforcement officers.
I don’t remember now if it was in this class or another class, or on a TV news report where I heard a story about a couple back east that seems to have come up with a good solution to allow both parents quality time with their children. The father gets up and goes to work like any other person. The mother stays home and gets the kids ready for school and takes them to school. She then proceeds to go to the law office where she works and works about six hours. Then she leaves work, picks the kids up at school, and spends quality time with them. Her husband returns home from work and they all eat supper together. Then, depending on the current need, she either goes back to the office or to her home office and completes her eight hour work day. Her husband cleans up after supper, helps the kids with any homework still not done, and gets them ready for bed. This gives him quality time with the children as well. I am sure this is a very rare situation, but it seems to be working. Both parents are able to work full time and spend quality time with their kids. Many people think of attorneys as workaholics, yet here is a case where the attorney does her job and makes a very good living at it.
I believe that if more companies would come up with solutions like the one I just related where possible, they would see their morale go way up. They would also see their employees spending less on health care because they would be happy. The children of their employees would really reap a lot of benefits by having quality time with both parents, not just one or the other. (Word Count – 378)
From everything I have watched, listened to, and read whether connected with this class or not, it seems that an equitable balance between work and family is very hard to achieve regardless of the profession. From what we have learned in this class, I would say it is next to impossible in the field of law. And really, I don’t think I mean just lawyers. I think it is the same way for many law enforcement officers.
I don’t remember now if it was in this class or another class, or on a TV news report where I heard a story about a couple back east that seems to have come up with a good solution to allow both parents quality time with their children. The father gets up and goes to work like any other person. The mother stays home and gets the kids ready for school and takes them to school. She then proceeds to go to the law office where she works and works about six hours. Then she leaves work, picks the kids up at school, and spends quality time with them. Her husband returns home from work and they all eat supper together. Then, depending on the current need, she either goes back to the office or to her home office and completes her eight hour work day. Her husband cleans up after supper, helps the kids with any homework still not done, and gets them ready for bed. This gives him quality time with the children as well. I am sure this is a very rare situation, but it seems to be working. Both parents are able to work full time and spend quality time with their kids. Many people think of attorneys as workaholics, yet here is a case where the attorney does her job and makes a very good living at it.
I believe that if more companies would come up with solutions like the one I just related where possible, they would see their morale go way up. They would also see their employees spending less on health care because they would be happy. The children of their employees would really reap a lot of benefits by having quality time with both parents, not just one or the other. (Word Count – 378)
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