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The female model of law firm practice

Ms. JD discusses an article about how now is the time for law firms to focus on diversity and retention. Quote from the article:

Women associates leave because they see few if any women partners who reflect a 'balance of life' success story. Instead, they see variations of the theme?the male model with lipstick. What they need to see is a sea change in attitude about part-time partnership opportunities.

Does being successful as a big-firm female lawyer mean you either have to follow the "male model" (no family or spouse at home with the kids) or work part-time (presumably, this is the "female model")? This misses the larger point about work-life balance at big firms: that almost everybody has commitments outside of work, and that allowing people the flexibility to honor those commitments goes a long way toward making them happy and retaining them.

The quote reminds me of an incident at a Career Services session with a headhunter who was telling us about the Boston market. I asked which firms had a reputation for being more flexible. "For instance, at the firm where I worked this past summer, face time wasn't a big deal, and a lot of people worked from home. Can you tell me about other firms that share that attitude?"

Her response was, "Oh, sweetie, just work as hard as you can and don't worry about working part-time right now. Maybe one day you'll decide to get married and have kids, and then you can think about that."

I was furious. (Also, four months pregnant, so the horse was out of the barn on that one.)

Part-time will always be a ghetto. It can't become the "female model."

Full post as published by Magic Cookie on April 23, 2009 (boomark / email).