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)
Blog 30
Blog 30
Old school conventional views about leadership are pretty much pro male and anti female. While there have been changes in the last twenty to thirty years, many still view men as leaders far more than they do women. However, great strides are still being made. Several years ago, Geraldine Ferraro was a vice presidential candidate. Many thought that was the reason her running mate lost the election. At that time, our country was not yet ready for a female vice president or president. Now, in our most recent election, Sarah Palin was a vice presidential candidate and, I think, a large number of people would rather have seen her as the presidential candidate than John McCain. We may not be that far from seeing a woman presidential candidate actually make it past the primaries. After all, Hillary Clinton came fairly close.
If there is anything I have found in my years on this Earth, it is that there are just about as many different leadership styles as there are leaders. Some of these styles are great, and some are terrible. Many, however, fall somewhere in between these two locations. The worst styles are found when someone tries to lead like they feel someone would want them to lead. People can be influenced in how they lead by stereotypes. Stereotypes say that men should be leaders and women should be followers. This is very sexist and very much the opposite of what we have learned in this class. It is very important that people who want to lead think things through and decide the leadership style that is best for them.
According to Linda Tarr-Whelan, Fortune 500 companies that have more women in leadership roles have a thirty-four percent better return than do those companies that have less or no women in leadership. This definitely says something for the idea that women should be in more roles of leadership. Tarr-Whelan goes on to say that, if your company wants to succeed, it should have more women in the upper echelons of leadership. This, in my book, proves that women are far better leaders than most people make them out to be. They are very capable of filling leadership roles.
I mentioned earlier about old school leadership stereotypes. Unfortunately, these stereotypes also say that men are much more aggressive than women in leadership and that this would mean a disaster for anything a woman might lead. Linda Tarr-Whelan’s comment about the higher return for companies with females in leadership shows so very strongly that this stereotype is very wrong.
I also earlier touched on the idea that people striving to be leaders should think about themselves and what leadership style is best for them to use. I have had several female supervisors over the years and I have also had several male supervisors over the years. To this point in time, my female supervisors have often been far better than the male ones. Don’t get me wrong, though, they have all had flaws in their styles. However, several of my male supervisors have been micro micro managers. Yes, I did mean to use micro there twice as that is how they have been. One male supervisor in particular actually wanted to know when one of his employees went to the restroom. I think of one female supervisor I had whose leadership style was to never confront her employees. She might receive numerous complaints, but she hated confrontation, so she would not say anything. Instead, she would go after them on their annual evaluation. She was a very nice woman but she just needed to fine tune her leadership skills. Another female supervisor was fantastic! She believed in thanking her employees constantly for everything they did. She also very nicely spoke with her employees if there was a problem. She also made sure that, if an employee was overwhelmed with their workload, she got them help even if she was the one that helped the person. If it was a constant problem, then she would search for other remedies. That is the kind of leadership companies and organizations need. If someone sees that someone in leadership cares that much and is that willing to help them improve, they will improve and, thereby, increase the companies’ morale and revenue. I am not saying that women are definitely one way and men are definitely one way. I am just relating my experiences. I believe we could all find males in leadership that are great or terrible and we could also find the same in females in leadership. (Word Count – 762)
Old school conventional views about leadership are pretty much pro male and anti female. While there have been changes in the last twenty to thirty years, many still view men as leaders far more than they do women. However, great strides are still being made. Several years ago, Geraldine Ferraro was a vice presidential candidate. Many thought that was the reason her running mate lost the election. At that time, our country was not yet ready for a female vice president or president. Now, in our most recent election, Sarah Palin was a vice presidential candidate and, I think, a large number of people would rather have seen her as the presidential candidate than John McCain. We may not be that far from seeing a woman presidential candidate actually make it past the primaries. After all, Hillary Clinton came fairly close.
If there is anything I have found in my years on this Earth, it is that there are just about as many different leadership styles as there are leaders. Some of these styles are great, and some are terrible. Many, however, fall somewhere in between these two locations. The worst styles are found when someone tries to lead like they feel someone would want them to lead. People can be influenced in how they lead by stereotypes. Stereotypes say that men should be leaders and women should be followers. This is very sexist and very much the opposite of what we have learned in this class. It is very important that people who want to lead think things through and decide the leadership style that is best for them.
According to Linda Tarr-Whelan, Fortune 500 companies that have more women in leadership roles have a thirty-four percent better return than do those companies that have less or no women in leadership. This definitely says something for the idea that women should be in more roles of leadership. Tarr-Whelan goes on to say that, if your company wants to succeed, it should have more women in the upper echelons of leadership. This, in my book, proves that women are far better leaders than most people make them out to be. They are very capable of filling leadership roles.
I mentioned earlier about old school leadership stereotypes. Unfortunately, these stereotypes also say that men are much more aggressive than women in leadership and that this would mean a disaster for anything a woman might lead. Linda Tarr-Whelan’s comment about the higher return for companies with females in leadership shows so very strongly that this stereotype is very wrong.
I also earlier touched on the idea that people striving to be leaders should think about themselves and what leadership style is best for them to use. I have had several female supervisors over the years and I have also had several male supervisors over the years. To this point in time, my female supervisors have often been far better than the male ones. Don’t get me wrong, though, they have all had flaws in their styles. However, several of my male supervisors have been micro micro managers. Yes, I did mean to use micro there twice as that is how they have been. One male supervisor in particular actually wanted to know when one of his employees went to the restroom. I think of one female supervisor I had whose leadership style was to never confront her employees. She might receive numerous complaints, but she hated confrontation, so she would not say anything. Instead, she would go after them on their annual evaluation. She was a very nice woman but she just needed to fine tune her leadership skills. Another female supervisor was fantastic! She believed in thanking her employees constantly for everything they did. She also very nicely spoke with her employees if there was a problem. She also made sure that, if an employee was overwhelmed with their workload, she got them help even if she was the one that helped the person. If it was a constant problem, then she would search for other remedies. That is the kind of leadership companies and organizations need. If someone sees that someone in leadership cares that much and is that willing to help them improve, they will improve and, thereby, increase the companies’ morale and revenue. I am not saying that women are definitely one way and men are definitely one way. I am just relating my experiences. I believe we could all find males in leadership that are great or terrible and we could also find the same in females in leadership. (Word Count – 762)
Blog 29
Blog 29
Only four percent of all attorneys are minority. Of that number, even a smaller percentage are minority females. Minority women do not tend to stay with one law firm very long. This is a very sad thing. We would tend to think that, of all places, a law firm would be open, honest, and not prejudicial or bigoted toward their staff. This does not appear to be the case however. In fact, just the opposite seems to be what is happening. In “Why so Few Minority Women Stay at Law Firms,” many of these women say they have been neglected, excluded, and harassed.
A glaring example of how minority women are not treated properly is the case of the female Korean attorney. It seems the firm she worked for had a client who was thinking of firing that firm because they were not diverse. The firm had this attorney sit in on a meeting strictly as a figure head so the client could see they were diverse.
In another situation, a Native American attorney was asked where their tomahawk was. They were also asked if they were going to scalp anyone. Come on folks, get real!
Minority attorneys get very tired of this treatment very fast. Instead of putting up with it, they resign and go to another firm in the hope that things will be different there. Unfortunately, they often find the same situation elsewhere. Also, the firm has lost all the money it has invested in the attorney’s training and will have to spend that much more money to train the next person according to their firm’s practices.
As concerns the comparison between the readings and what the NPR news had to say, they were much the same. However, NPR tended to be more in depth and exposed more of the problems. (Word Count – 304)
Only four percent of all attorneys are minority. Of that number, even a smaller percentage are minority females. Minority women do not tend to stay with one law firm very long. This is a very sad thing. We would tend to think that, of all places, a law firm would be open, honest, and not prejudicial or bigoted toward their staff. This does not appear to be the case however. In fact, just the opposite seems to be what is happening. In “Why so Few Minority Women Stay at Law Firms,” many of these women say they have been neglected, excluded, and harassed.
A glaring example of how minority women are not treated properly is the case of the female Korean attorney. It seems the firm she worked for had a client who was thinking of firing that firm because they were not diverse. The firm had this attorney sit in on a meeting strictly as a figure head so the client could see they were diverse.
In another situation, a Native American attorney was asked where their tomahawk was. They were also asked if they were going to scalp anyone. Come on folks, get real!
Minority attorneys get very tired of this treatment very fast. Instead of putting up with it, they resign and go to another firm in the hope that things will be different there. Unfortunately, they often find the same situation elsewhere. Also, the firm has lost all the money it has invested in the attorney’s training and will have to spend that much more money to train the next person according to their firm’s practices.
As concerns the comparison between the readings and what the NPR news had to say, they were much the same. However, NPR tended to be more in depth and exposed more of the problems. (Word Count – 304)
Blog 28
Blog 28
I, for one, was absolutely at what Jeff Rosen wrote. I am not a journalist, not would I ever want to be one, but what he wrote would definitely solidify the idea that I would never want to be a journalist like him. There is an old saying that truly applies in this case. Sotomayor was “raked over the coals” in this article. I feel that Rosen proves in this article that, had he been given the opportunity, he would definitely have voted against anything that would help women and women’s rights. He certainly does not come across in this article as someone who thinks men and women are equal and that women and men can do the same jobs.
We are told in this article that Sotomayor is “a sharp interrogator and wanted attorneys to be on top of things.” Rosen portrayed this as something bad. Excuse me, but if I needed an attorney, I would definitely want that attorney to be a sharp interrogator and be on top of things! After all, it is my life and livelihood we are talking about. Perhaps Rosen should be on trial and have an attorney who doesn’t interrogate much and doesn’t care about being on top of things. I’m sure Rosen would not be a happy man.
Calling Sonia Sotomayor a “fiery Latina woman” is about as prejudicial as one can get. That statement alone is screaming for lawsuits citing slander and malicious prejudice.
If I had the time, I would jump at the chance to go back and see what Rosen said when Clarence Thomas was being considered for the High Court or when Samuel Alito was being considered. It would even be interesting to hear what he would have said about Antonin Scalia. My guess is that he would have praised the same attributes for which he criticized Sonia Sotomayor. (Word Count – 311).
I, for one, was absolutely at what Jeff Rosen wrote. I am not a journalist, not would I ever want to be one, but what he wrote would definitely solidify the idea that I would never want to be a journalist like him. There is an old saying that truly applies in this case. Sotomayor was “raked over the coals” in this article. I feel that Rosen proves in this article that, had he been given the opportunity, he would definitely have voted against anything that would help women and women’s rights. He certainly does not come across in this article as someone who thinks men and women are equal and that women and men can do the same jobs.
We are told in this article that Sotomayor is “a sharp interrogator and wanted attorneys to be on top of things.” Rosen portrayed this as something bad. Excuse me, but if I needed an attorney, I would definitely want that attorney to be a sharp interrogator and be on top of things! After all, it is my life and livelihood we are talking about. Perhaps Rosen should be on trial and have an attorney who doesn’t interrogate much and doesn’t care about being on top of things. I’m sure Rosen would not be a happy man.
Calling Sonia Sotomayor a “fiery Latina woman” is about as prejudicial as one can get. That statement alone is screaming for lawsuits citing slander and malicious prejudice.
If I had the time, I would jump at the chance to go back and see what Rosen said when Clarence Thomas was being considered for the High Court or when Samuel Alito was being considered. It would even be interesting to hear what he would have said about Antonin Scalia. My guess is that he would have praised the same attributes for which he criticized Sonia Sotomayor. (Word Count – 311).
Blog 27
Blog 27
The competency gap. What is it and how do we overcome it? As concerns attorneys, the competency gap may be a fabricated notion in many instances. For many years, the field of law was totally or nearly totally male. Then women started to decide they wanted to be lawyers. Unfortunately, this male dominated field had a large number of “good old boy” networks that were not about to let women in. Far too many of these men are still making it very hard for women to become successful in the practice of law. I think of one female lawyer I know personally who is an excellent lawyer. Her husband is also a lawyer. She got where she did because she and her husband became law partners, so she obviously did not have to fight a whole bunch of males for cases.
Another way in which the competency gap is portrayed is that female attorneys are often thought to not be as competent as men if they are married and have a family. Since it usually seems to be the mother and not the father that has to go pick up a sick child from school, or has to take care of the kids at other times, they are considered to not be as competent and able to handle the pressures of the profession. In reality, I believe the women are much more competent and able to handle the pressures of being an attorney or any other profession. Show me how many male attorneys could do everything that a married female attorney does. The men would buckle under the strain and pressure. For many years, the female has been called the weaker sex. They are, of course, called this by males. Males are truly the weaker sex. Until this fact is accepted and believed, the competency gap will always exist. (Word count – 309)
The competency gap. What is it and how do we overcome it? As concerns attorneys, the competency gap may be a fabricated notion in many instances. For many years, the field of law was totally or nearly totally male. Then women started to decide they wanted to be lawyers. Unfortunately, this male dominated field had a large number of “good old boy” networks that were not about to let women in. Far too many of these men are still making it very hard for women to become successful in the practice of law. I think of one female lawyer I know personally who is an excellent lawyer. Her husband is also a lawyer. She got where she did because she and her husband became law partners, so she obviously did not have to fight a whole bunch of males for cases.
Another way in which the competency gap is portrayed is that female attorneys are often thought to not be as competent as men if they are married and have a family. Since it usually seems to be the mother and not the father that has to go pick up a sick child from school, or has to take care of the kids at other times, they are considered to not be as competent and able to handle the pressures of the profession. In reality, I believe the women are much more competent and able to handle the pressures of being an attorney or any other profession. Show me how many male attorneys could do everything that a married female attorney does. The men would buckle under the strain and pressure. For many years, the female has been called the weaker sex. They are, of course, called this by males. Males are truly the weaker sex. Until this fact is accepted and believed, the competency gap will always exist. (Word count – 309)
Blog 26
Blog 26
There are several roles that men play in assisting women in the practice of law. Sadly, female attorneys sometimes feel the need to have a male attorney on their team to help win support and trust in her team. Female attorneys have been known to have male attorneys give their closing arguments in trials just because the male voice will be believed and respected much more than the female voice. Though there have been great strides over the last couple of decades in women performing the same jobs as men, our culture still tends, in a large part, to put more trust in males when it comes to the area of law. There are many female attorneys in practice that are as good as or even a lot better than their male counterparts, but our society still tends to be chauvinistic and lean toward the males. Because our society is no longer a society where one salary is sufficient, women are now in the workforce far more than ever before. Unfortunately, women are still not accorded the praise they deserve for doing their jobs so well.
Sadly, female attorneys may have to fight for power when working with male attorneys on a case. English shows us this in relating the story of a Washington, D.C. female attorney that had to fight not only the male attorney for power, but had to figure out some way to be heard by the client. The client was looking at the man and giving him the power.
One way in which males need to help females is by not asking the females to get them their cup of coffee or a Danish or something like that just because of the gender differences. I am a male secretary and I can tell you that this idea goes both ways. It may not be so much that the female is asked to get these for the male because of her gender, but because of her title. If, in a law firm, a male attorney asks a female attorney with less seniority than him to get him something, it may be partially because he feels he is too good to do this because of his seniority. I am often asked by males and females alike to do these kinds of tasks just because of the comparison between my title and their title. I realize this may not strengthen our argument, but this is the way I see it. Unfortunately, this may never end. (Word Count – 416)
There are several roles that men play in assisting women in the practice of law. Sadly, female attorneys sometimes feel the need to have a male attorney on their team to help win support and trust in her team. Female attorneys have been known to have male attorneys give their closing arguments in trials just because the male voice will be believed and respected much more than the female voice. Though there have been great strides over the last couple of decades in women performing the same jobs as men, our culture still tends, in a large part, to put more trust in males when it comes to the area of law. There are many female attorneys in practice that are as good as or even a lot better than their male counterparts, but our society still tends to be chauvinistic and lean toward the males. Because our society is no longer a society where one salary is sufficient, women are now in the workforce far more than ever before. Unfortunately, women are still not accorded the praise they deserve for doing their jobs so well.
Sadly, female attorneys may have to fight for power when working with male attorneys on a case. English shows us this in relating the story of a Washington, D.C. female attorney that had to fight not only the male attorney for power, but had to figure out some way to be heard by the client. The client was looking at the man and giving him the power.
One way in which males need to help females is by not asking the females to get them their cup of coffee or a Danish or something like that just because of the gender differences. I am a male secretary and I can tell you that this idea goes both ways. It may not be so much that the female is asked to get these for the male because of her gender, but because of her title. If, in a law firm, a male attorney asks a female attorney with less seniority than him to get him something, it may be partially because he feels he is too good to do this because of his seniority. I am often asked by males and females alike to do these kinds of tasks just because of the comparison between my title and their title. I realize this may not strengthen our argument, but this is the way I see it. Unfortunately, this may never end. (Word Count – 416)
Blog 25
Blog 25
I believe sexualized behavior is used as a weapon in just about every facet of life. We are talking right now more about the legal field, so I will go there for a while. I have been in two courtrooms in my lifetime (52 years). One time I was there as a potential juror and the second time I was there as an observer for another Justice Studies class I was enrolled in. I saw a marked difference in the messages the females attorneys were trying to convey as to what the male attorneys were trying to convey. The male attorneys were dressed in dark pinstriped suits both times. Both times the women were dressed in suits that had very tight skirts and very tight jackets. To me, I felt it was quite obvious these women were relying not so much on their true legal talents, but on their bodily attributes to get them ahead in the courtroom and win their case.
My wife and I watch a TV show on Sunday nights called Drop Dead Diva. This show revolves around a female attorney who actually has someone else living in her body. That someone else is the dead girlfriend of one of the male attorneys in the office. The attorney is full figured with long, dark hair. The girlfriend that now inhabits her body used to be a blonde model that wore very tight, very skimpy clothing. The female attorney was supposedly a very intelligent but not very nice woman before the transformation. The model was portrayed as the stereotyped dumb blonde. In that show is another female attorney who would give anything to have a fling with the male attorney who is the former boyfriend of the dead model. She uses sexualized behavior routinely. Her skirts are short and tight and her tops are tight and often show a considerable amount of cleavage. She thinks this is how she has to be to get ahead in the office and in the courtroom.
Unfortunately, I believe sexualized behavior is here to stay from both men and women. It is so embedded in our society that it may never be able to fly away.
(word count – 364)
I believe sexualized behavior is used as a weapon in just about every facet of life. We are talking right now more about the legal field, so I will go there for a while. I have been in two courtrooms in my lifetime (52 years). One time I was there as a potential juror and the second time I was there as an observer for another Justice Studies class I was enrolled in. I saw a marked difference in the messages the females attorneys were trying to convey as to what the male attorneys were trying to convey. The male attorneys were dressed in dark pinstriped suits both times. Both times the women were dressed in suits that had very tight skirts and very tight jackets. To me, I felt it was quite obvious these women were relying not so much on their true legal talents, but on their bodily attributes to get them ahead in the courtroom and win their case.
My wife and I watch a TV show on Sunday nights called Drop Dead Diva. This show revolves around a female attorney who actually has someone else living in her body. That someone else is the dead girlfriend of one of the male attorneys in the office. The attorney is full figured with long, dark hair. The girlfriend that now inhabits her body used to be a blonde model that wore very tight, very skimpy clothing. The female attorney was supposedly a very intelligent but not very nice woman before the transformation. The model was portrayed as the stereotyped dumb blonde. In that show is another female attorney who would give anything to have a fling with the male attorney who is the former boyfriend of the dead model. She uses sexualized behavior routinely. Her skirts are short and tight and her tops are tight and often show a considerable amount of cleavage. She thinks this is how she has to be to get ahead in the office and in the courtroom.
Unfortunately, I believe sexualized behavior is here to stay from both men and women. It is so embedded in our society that it may never be able to fly away.
(word count – 364)
Blog 24
Blog 24
I came away from my research with one main thought: Female lawyers are definitely in a catch-22 situation. Another way of saying it is that female lawyers have to deal with a double standard. I got the impression that if a female lawyer acts too aggressively, she will be considered a bully by her peers. By the same token, if she is not aggressive enough, she will be considered a wimp and will be ineffective in court. Those of us that are older have probably seen the TV show Matlock. Matlock’s daughter practiced law with him. She was often portrayed as being tough and, as a result, had no kind of home or social life.
An organization that exists to help female lawyers not only get ahead in their profession, but also to cope with issues, is the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL). This organization is totally voluntary. NAWL publishes newsletters with very informative and educational articles for female lawyers. NAWL spends a lot of time focused on issues that are relevant at that time to female lawyers.
One thing I found in my research is that many female lawyers are leaving the profession. Some are leaving for maternity leave, while others are leaving because of issues with their children. Some other issues include the number of hours required of work and also the number of hours involved in being a good mother wife and mother. Many women are deciding it is more important to invest the hours in being a good wife and mother.
While female lawyers have come a long, long way in achieving equality with male lawyers, they still have a long way to go. The hardest part may still be to come. The women have to earn the same pay as men. Women have to be treated the same as men. Until this happens, true equality does not exist.
(word count – 314)
I came away from my research with one main thought: Female lawyers are definitely in a catch-22 situation. Another way of saying it is that female lawyers have to deal with a double standard. I got the impression that if a female lawyer acts too aggressively, she will be considered a bully by her peers. By the same token, if she is not aggressive enough, she will be considered a wimp and will be ineffective in court. Those of us that are older have probably seen the TV show Matlock. Matlock’s daughter practiced law with him. She was often portrayed as being tough and, as a result, had no kind of home or social life.
An organization that exists to help female lawyers not only get ahead in their profession, but also to cope with issues, is the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL). This organization is totally voluntary. NAWL publishes newsletters with very informative and educational articles for female lawyers. NAWL spends a lot of time focused on issues that are relevant at that time to female lawyers.
One thing I found in my research is that many female lawyers are leaving the profession. Some are leaving for maternity leave, while others are leaving because of issues with their children. Some other issues include the number of hours required of work and also the number of hours involved in being a good mother wife and mother. Many women are deciding it is more important to invest the hours in being a good wife and mother.
While female lawyers have come a long, long way in achieving equality with male lawyers, they still have a long way to go. The hardest part may still be to come. The women have to earn the same pay as men. Women have to be treated the same as men. Until this happens, true equality does not exist.
(word count – 314)
Blog 23
Blog 23
I would cite Michelle Obama as the starting, and maybe ending, point of my discussion on women in law and/or politics and their dress. The NPR story we listened to of her was so fascinating. For so many years, possibly most of the life of our country, first ladies and other women in politics have dressed in a style considered to be very conservative. As I think back over the first ladies that have been in office during my lifetime, Mamie Eisenhower through Michelle Obama, it seemed like about all one ever saw them wearing was something plain and of a very conservative color such as gray, navy blue, or black. The only first lady I can remember as showing anything at all other than this was Jackie Kennedy. She could be seen once in a while in a bright print or at least something not so dingy. In the first months of the Obama administration, I used to hear Michelle Obama being compared to Jackie Kennedy. Jackie is the only other first lady Michelle could ever begin to be compared to. I have seen Michelle in several pictures in which she was wearing something that was anything but conservative and dreary. We have seen Michelle Obama in bright prints. We have seen her in evening gowns that were not navy, black, or gray. I remember one gown she wore that was sort of a tan in color. What a breath of fresh air! Don’t get me wrong. Some of our other first ladies have dressed in dark colors and have looked lovely. I think of Rosalyn Carter and Laura Bush. They can both wear dark, conservative colors and look bright and cheerful in them.
I get the impression that many female lawyers believe they need to dress in dark, conservative colors to look professional. I have not been in very many courtrooms, but the women in the ones I have been in dressed very conservatively. (word count – 326)
I would cite Michelle Obama as the starting, and maybe ending, point of my discussion on women in law and/or politics and their dress. The NPR story we listened to of her was so fascinating. For so many years, possibly most of the life of our country, first ladies and other women in politics have dressed in a style considered to be very conservative. As I think back over the first ladies that have been in office during my lifetime, Mamie Eisenhower through Michelle Obama, it seemed like about all one ever saw them wearing was something plain and of a very conservative color such as gray, navy blue, or black. The only first lady I can remember as showing anything at all other than this was Jackie Kennedy. She could be seen once in a while in a bright print or at least something not so dingy. In the first months of the Obama administration, I used to hear Michelle Obama being compared to Jackie Kennedy. Jackie is the only other first lady Michelle could ever begin to be compared to. I have seen Michelle in several pictures in which she was wearing something that was anything but conservative and dreary. We have seen Michelle Obama in bright prints. We have seen her in evening gowns that were not navy, black, or gray. I remember one gown she wore that was sort of a tan in color. What a breath of fresh air! Don’t get me wrong. Some of our other first ladies have dressed in dark colors and have looked lovely. I think of Rosalyn Carter and Laura Bush. They can both wear dark, conservative colors and look bright and cheerful in them.
I get the impression that many female lawyers believe they need to dress in dark, conservative colors to look professional. I have not been in very many courtrooms, but the women in the ones I have been in dressed very conservatively. (word count – 326)
Blog 22
Blog 22
Sonia Sotomayor has set somewhat of a precedent. While she is not the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court, she is the first Hispanic woman to serve on the high court. Judge Sotomayor was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama in 2009. The judge graduated at the top of her class at Yale. When I first heard that she had been nominated to the Supreme Court, I found myself having to fight back some of the discriminatory and prejudicial comments that my father and grandfather might have said because she was, first a female, and secondly, Hispanic. I have long believed in the idea that, if a woman can do the job, she should be allowed to do it. Let’s face it; some women have done “traditional male jobs” far better than the men that used to do them. Of course, they should receive equal pay as well! The Honorable Judge Sotomayor is openly known to be a strong advocate for hiring Latinos wherever possible. I am openly in favor of hiring anyone into a position for which they are qualified. They certainly should not be passed by just because of their ethnicity or gender. Some people have said that they feel Judge Sotomayor is prejudicially in favor of minorities when ruling on cases. Some people are openly saying what my father and grandfather would have said about her being a woman and Hispanic. I remember reading in the past that derogatory things were said about Thurgood Marshall because he was the first African-American member of the Supreme Court. His record proves that he was a great Supreme Court Justice. It is really too early to accurately judge how Judge Sotomayor will be as a Supreme Court Justice. Let her sit on a few cases and see how she votes on them. Then and only then can her record be accurately judged.
(Word count – 319)
Sonia Sotomayor has set somewhat of a precedent. While she is not the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court, she is the first Hispanic woman to serve on the high court. Judge Sotomayor was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama in 2009. The judge graduated at the top of her class at Yale. When I first heard that she had been nominated to the Supreme Court, I found myself having to fight back some of the discriminatory and prejudicial comments that my father and grandfather might have said because she was, first a female, and secondly, Hispanic. I have long believed in the idea that, if a woman can do the job, she should be allowed to do it. Let’s face it; some women have done “traditional male jobs” far better than the men that used to do them. Of course, they should receive equal pay as well! The Honorable Judge Sotomayor is openly known to be a strong advocate for hiring Latinos wherever possible. I am openly in favor of hiring anyone into a position for which they are qualified. They certainly should not be passed by just because of their ethnicity or gender. Some people have said that they feel Judge Sotomayor is prejudicially in favor of minorities when ruling on cases. Some people are openly saying what my father and grandfather would have said about her being a woman and Hispanic. I remember reading in the past that derogatory things were said about Thurgood Marshall because he was the first African-American member of the Supreme Court. His record proves that he was a great Supreme Court Justice. It is really too early to accurately judge how Judge Sotomayor will be as a Supreme Court Justice. Let her sit on a few cases and see how she votes on them. Then and only then can her record be accurately judged.
(Word count – 319)
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