Legal News

The Dorothy Problem: Are Women at Law Firms too Passive?

By Ashby Jones

For many years now, women have been graduating from U.S. law schools at rates nearly equal to those of men. Still, at the big law firms, only 19 and 2 percent of the partners and law-firm heads, respectively, are women.

Why the disparity? Some blame the fact that cultural pressures on men and women are often perceived as different; the hands-on work of raising a family often falls in large part to women. Others point to strains of sexism, both veiled and obvious, that have yet to be completely flushed from the practice of law.

We’re not sure where the following rationale fits in, but we certainly found it provocative. Orrick partner Patricia Gillette, writing for the American Lawyer, says women too often fail to adequately promote themselves within a firm.

Gillette opens by talking about Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz, whom she calls a “true leader,” but one who failed to grab the brass ring for herself. Continues Gillette:

[W]omen have played some part in creating the current situation by following the Dorothy model of “don’t ask and don’t tell.” Many women don’t ask for business and career opportunities, for leadership positions, for chances to strut our stuff. Correspondingly, many women don’t tell (read: acknowledge their wins) when they are successful. Instead, women tend to wait for the recognition and reward–a wait that can last a career. This is not the sole reason or even the primary reason for the lack of women in positions of power, but it is a contributor.

In the end, however, Gillette places part of the onus of fixing the situation back on the firms themselves:

[W]e have to acknowledge that power in law firms is defined by meaningful leadership positions and books of business, and that it is time for us to demand that firms change the traditional ways in which that power is transferred. This starts by mandating training in what constitutes “unconscious bias” for all partners and associates. Men and women must be willing to acknowledge that they are not innocent bystanders or that they are free from hidden prejudices.

Some questions for you, LBers. Is Gillette right in asserting that too many women fail to ask for “chances to strut our stuff”? If so, upon whom should the duty lie to rectify things?

Photo: iStockPhoto

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on July 08, 2009 (boomark / email).