Women in Leadership back to top

There are still few women at the top of corporate and professional America.

Fortune 500 Companies as of 2005:

• Women represented 16.4% of corporate officers. Women of color represented only 1.7% of officers.

• Women represented 9.4% of titles higher than Vice President.

• Women represented 14.7% of all Fortune 500 board seats. Women of color held only 3.4% of board seats.

• 1 in 9 Fortune 500 companies had no women on its board.

• Only 8 companies in the Fortune 500 were led by women CEOs in 2005. None of these was among the Fortune 100.

Law Firms and Corporate Counsel back to top

• As of 2005, women represented 17.29% of law firm partners but 44.12% of associates.

• As of 2006, women represent 16.6% of general counsels in Fortune 500 companies.

The Personal Status of Career Women back to top

Several studies have found that women in high-powered careers are more likely than their male counterparts to be unmarried and childless.

According to a 2001 study entitled “High Achieving Women,” which surveyed a nationally representative sample of high-achieving working and non-working women and high-achieving men ages 28-55:

• Between 33 and 42% (depending on industry) of high-achieving women (a phrase defined in the study) are childless at age 40 and only 14% by choice. Percentages are even higher among women of color.

• In contrast, only 25% of high-achieving men are childless at ages 41-55 and that figure drops to 19% among ultra-achieving men (defined as those whose income puts them in top 1% of age group).

• High-achieving women are “extremely unlikely” to get married after age 35. Of women ages 41-55, only 8% were married after 30 and only 3% after 35.
• Only 60% of high-achieving women ages 41-55 were currently married, and that figure falls to 57% in corporate America.
• In contrast, 76% of men ages 41-55 are currently married. That figure rises to 83% for ultra-achieving men.

In a 2001 study of senior and pipeline-level employees at securities firms:

• 86% of men but only 67% of women were married or with a partner.
• 74% of men but only 50% of women were parents.
• 79% of women have a partner or spouse who works full time but only 28% of men do.

Women Opting Out and Opting In back to top

According to the Census Bureau,

• As of 2004, there were 5.5 million stay-at-home parents in the United States. 5.4 million of these were mothers and only 98,000 were fathers. 34% were mothers under age 35.

In a 2005 study entitled “Off-Ramps and On-Ramps: Keeping Talented Women on the Road to Success,” which surveyed a nationally representative sample of highly qualified women and highly qualified men ages 28-55:

• 37% of highly qualified women (as defined in study) have opted out at some point in careers. Among mothers, that statistic rises to 43%.
• 93% of women who took time off from their careers wanted to return to work, but only 40% had returned.
• When women returned to full-time jobs after time off, they lost an average of 18% of their earning power.
• When a woman was out of work for 3 or more years, she lost, on average, 37% of her earning power when she returned to workforce.
• When returning to work, 24% of women took part-time jobs and 9% became self-employed.
• Only 5% of women trying to get back into their careers are interested in rejoining the companies they left. In business sectors, that percentage is zero.

Women Business Owners back to top

Women-owned businesses are on the rise.

• 48% (which translates to 10.6 million firms) of all privately-held U.S. firms are at least half-owned by a woman or women.
• Between 1997 and 2004, firms owned 50% or more by women increased at nearly twice the rate of all firms (17% vs. 9%).
• As of 2004, women of color owned an estimated 1.4 million privately-held firms in the United States. Women of color own 36% of all firms owned by persons of color.

General Statistics on Women in the Workforce back to top

• Women comprised 46% of the total U.S. labor force in 2005.
• 75% of employed women worked full-time in 2005. The remaining 25% worked part-time.

RESOURCES FOR LAWYERS back to top

Affinity-Based Bar Associations back to top

The following are national affinity-based bar associations that provide educational and networking opportunities. Some provide job listings.

In addition, attorneys should consider becoming involved in local bar associations and should join organizations that facilitate networking outside of the legal community, as listed in our general resources section.

• ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession - The commission creates “leadership and economic opportunities for racially and ethnically diverse lawyers within the ABA and the legal profession.” Under the “Programs” section of the website, the commission links to affiliates and organizations that provide networking opportunities for minority lawyers, including (i) the Minority Counsel Program, which provides networking opportunities for corporations and lawyers of color; (ii) the Minority In-House Counsel Group, a national network of minority lawyers who work in corporations and governmental agencies (the MIC Job listserv reaches over 1,000 attorneys weekly with job opportunities); (iii) Multicultural Women Attorneys Network, which focuses on issues facing minority women lawyers and sponsors roundtable discussions and regional conferences; and (iv) the Conference of Minority Partners, an organization of minority African-American, Hispanic American, Asian Pacific Islander American and American Indian partners in corporate law firms. The website also provides links to research on minority lawyers. www.abanet.org/minorities
• ABA Women Rainmakers Committee - Part of the ABA’s Law Practice Management Section, the Women Rainmakers Committee provides networking opportunities, programs, publications, videotapes, a discussion group, and mentoring to its members. Membership is limited to those who are members of both the ABA and the ABA’s Law Practice Management Section. The website contains a list of tips for women regarding career development (including tips on how to generate business, how to develop your network, and how to develop your expertise).www.abanet.org/dch/committee.cfm?com=EP005600
• Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) - The HNBA has over 25,000 Hispanic American attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students as members. The association provides CLE and networking opportunities for members. Its website contains a list of job postings for attorneys; members are emailed job postings at least once monthly. www.hnba.com

• International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC)- IWIRC is an international professional association that works to enhance the professional status and reputation of women in insolvency practice. Members are attorneys, accountants, turnaround managers, bankers, judges, academics and other insolvency professionals. The group sponsors networking, professional development, leadership and mentoring opportunities on the local and international level. www.iwirc.com

• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) - NAPABA is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors and law students. NAPABA’s work includes (i) providing a national network for its members; (ii) offering CLE seminars, forums and conferences; and (iii) advocating for the legal interests of the Asian Pacific American community. NAPABA’s website also contains a directory of Asian Pacific American partners and senior attorneys in major U.S. law firms. www.napaba.org
• National Bar Association (NBA) - The nation’s largest bar association for African-American lawyers, NBA’s work includes (i) expanding opportunities for minorities within the legal profession; (ii) offering CLE seminars and conferences; and (iii) providing research and legal assistance to “protect the civil and political rights” of U.S. citizens. www.nationalbar.org
• National Lesbian and Gay Law Association (NLGLA) - The national association of lawyers, judges and other legal professionals, law students, activists and affiliated lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender legal organizations. Membership provides access to a membership directory, a job board and discussion boards. www.nlgla.org
• National Native American Bar Association (NNABA) - NNABA is the national association for Native American attorneys, judges, law professors and law students. The organization promotes issues important to the Native American community and works to improve professional opportunities for Native American lawyers. NNABA provides job postings to members through its listserv. www.nativeamericanbar.org
• Puerto Rican Bar Association (PRBA) - The PRBA is an association of Latino attorneys, law students and other interested persons. The organization promotes the social, economic, professional, and educational advancement of Latino attorneys and the Latino community. The PRBA provides members with CLE and networking opportunities. www.prba.net
• North American South Asian Bar Association (NASABA) - NASABA promotes the South Asian bar and focuses on the needs of the South Asian community. www.na-saba.org

Research for Lawyers  back to top

• Association of the Bar of the City of New York (ABCNY) - The ABCNY has published several significant reports on law firm diversity and attorney satisfaction. See http://www.nycbar.org/Diversity/index.htm for “Statement of Diversity Principles and Signatories” and “Diversity Benchmarking Study - A Report to Signatory Law Firms.” See http://www.nycbar.org/Diversity/WomenLawyers.htm for research on women attorneys, including the 2006 report from the Committee on Women in the Profession on “Best Practices for the Hiring, Training, Retention, and Advancement of Women Attorneys” and contact information for an ABCNY report on flextime. Also, the Report of the Task Force on Lawyers’ Quality of Life examines the causes of dissatisfaction and the high turnover rate among young lawyers at large law firms. Causes include the lack of useful feedback and evaluations, lack of responsibility, inadequate training, uncertain promotion criteria, inequitable work distribution, high billable requirements, and absence of mentoring. www.nycbar.org/index.html
• ABA Commission on Women in the Profession - The Commission advocates for the “full and equal participation of women lawyers” by, among other things, publishing reports on women and presenting programs for women. The website includes an online directory of listings for national, local and international associations for women lawyers. Check upcoming events for professional development and networking opportunities. The “Statistics” section of the website contains statistics on women attorneys, as well as links to research findings from other organizations. www.abanet.org/women
• Boston Bar Association - The Boston Bar Association has published reports on attorneys’ work-life balance and professional fulfillment. The reports can be found in the “Publications” section of website, then under “Reports of BBA Task Forces." www.bostonbar.org
  
  
• Catalyst - Catalyst is a research and advisory organization dedicated to the advancement of women in business. Catalyst has conducted several studies on the legal profession, posted under the “Knowledge” section of its website (www.catalyst.org/knowledge/industry.shtml). Although two of the reports study Canadian law firms, much of the analysis also applies to United States law firms. www.catalyst.org
  
  
• Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) - The MCCA’s mission is “to advocate for the expanded hiring, retention, and promotion of minority attorneys in corporate law departments and the law firms that serve them.” The MCCA’s efforts include (i) providing research on diversity in the legal profession; (ii) sponsoring the Sager Award (given to law firms that have shown a “sustained commitment” to the hiring, retention and promotion of minority attorneys); (iii) providing a job bank; and (iv) sponsoring events to promote diversity. See the “In-House Resources” and “Law Firms” section of site for articles and reports on diversity. www.mcca.com
• The National Association for Law Placement (NALP) - NALP is dedicated to the career planning, recruitment, retention, and professional development of law students and lawyers. In the “Research and Directories” section of the website, see “Press Releases” for summaries of NALP research, and see “Research” section for summaries of NALP research on numerous topics, including “Diversity and Demographics” and “Recruitment and Hiring.” The website also contains an online directory of legal employers (as well as recruitment guidelines useful for students) and job postings for career services, recruitment, professional development and related legal services positions. www.nalp.org
•  Project for Attorney Retention (PAR) - PAR’s mission is to “improve recruiting and retention of talented attorneys” by encouraging employers to establish viable part-time and flexible schedules. PAR’s website serves as a resource for both attorneys who work part-time (or who are interested in working part-time) and for legal employers. The “Law Firm Project” page of the website includes (i) summaries from PAR’s study of part-time work at D.C. firms; (ii) checklists for employers with part-time programs; (iii) tips for part-time attorneys; and (iv) stories from attorneys who have worked part-time. The “Corporate Counsel Project” section of website reports results from PAR’s study of part-time programs at in-house legal departments. PAR’s directors are Joan Williams and Cynthia Thomas Calvert, co-authors of the book Solving the Part-Time Puzzle: The Law Firm’s Guide to Balanced Hours. www.pardc.org
• Vault - Vault provides career resources for lawyers and other professionals. The website contains a directory of firms, a listing of Vault’s “Top 100” firms and “leading” midsize firms, profiles on firm diversity and pro bono programs, and a job board for lawyers. www.vault.com

Work-Life Resources  back to top

• Flex-Time Lawyers LLC - Founded by Deborah Epstein Henry, an attorney and mother of three, Flex-Time Lawyers is a networking and support organization for lawyers who work a flexible and/or reduced schedule. The group holds lunch discussions in Philadelphia and New York City on professional development topics relevant to part-time attorneys. www.flextimelawyers.com
  
• Ellen Ostrow, founder of “Lawyers Life Coach" - Ostrow provides personal and career coaching for women lawyers through individual and group sessions. Her group coaching program, called “Success on Your Own Terms,” meets twice monthly through audio-teleconferencing. Ostrow specializes in helping attorneys find a work-life balance, but she also counsels lawyers on how to manage stress, find fulfillment, and define their career goals. Her website provides a self-assessment quiz to test whether you are satisfied with your current work-life balance. www.lawyerslifecoach.com

• Project for Attorney Retention (PAR) - See above

Reading List for Lawyers  back to top

Best Practices

• Solving the Part-Time Puzzle: The Law Firm’s Guide to Balanced Hours by Joan C. Williams and Cynthia Thomas Calvert (2004) - Written by the founders of the Project for Attorney Retention, an organization that seeks to improve attorney retention through the use of part-time programs (see above), Solving the Part-Time Puzzle provides (i) concrete recommendations on how firms should structure and monitor part-time programs; (ii) the business case for part-time; (iii) discussion of the cultural adjustments that need to occur for part-time to be accepted and successful within a firm; and (iv) practical implementation advice (e.g., a sample memo to the firm regarding the program, attrition cost worksheet, etc.).

Practical Skills

• The Woman Lawyer’s Rainmaking Game: How to Build a Successful Law Practice by Silvia L. Coulter (2004) - A good primer on rainmaking and business development skills for lawyers.

• Writing to Win: The Legal Writer by Steven D. Stark (1999) - A good primer on legal writing. The book is primarily for litigators, but it includes sections relevant to other practice areas. There are chapters on writing arguments and facts, trial and appellate briefs, complaints and answers, discovery documents, oral arguments, technical writing, contracts and rules, memos, letters and emails. Each chapter begins with a tip sheet, and tips are explained in detail in the chapters.

Status of Women in the Legal Profession

• Ending the Gauntlet: Removing Barriers to Women’s Success in the Law by Lauren Stiller Rikleen (2006) - The most extensive study to date of women in the legal profession. Subjects include mentoring, rainmaking, networking, gender stereotypes, part-time work, assignments, and the evaluation process. The book includes anecdotes from women and managing partners and some general suggestions for improvement.

• Women at Law by Phyllis Horn Epstein (2004) - This book examines the experiences of women lawyers from diverse practice settings. Topics include career choices, women attorneys’ professional demeanor (confidence, etc.) and appearance, gender stereotypes, mentors and role models, balancing work and home, and taking time off from work (now called “opting out”). The book also includes profiles of women attorneys, detailed references, and a chapter for prospective law students.

• Women Lawyers by Mona Harrington (1993) - Based upon interviews with women lawyers from diverse practice settings, this book discusses the barriers to women’s advancement in the law. Chapter Five discusses the culture and practices of big law firms.

Choosing a Legal Career or Leaving a Legal Career

• The Lawyer’s Career Change Handbook: More than 300 Things You Can Do with a Law Degree by Hindi Greenberg (1998) - This book is part self-assessment, part job search guide. The book contains extensive self-evaluation tools and questions to determine your skills, strengths and weaknesses; your preferred work environment; and how you feel about your current job and the law (see Chapter Five; see also pp. 6-7, 24-26, 63-64). There are tips on how to select a satisfying practice area or setting using Myers-Briggs methodology (see Chapter Two). The book also discusses career options (within and outside the law) and provides career resources. Tips include how to investigate career options; how to conduct informational interviews; and how to draft resumes and cover letters and interview for both legal and non-legal jobs.

Statistics on Lawyers back to top

Statistics for Women & Attorneys of Color back to top

      Law Students

• Women have been graduating from law school in roughly equal numbers to men since the mid-1980s, reaching 40% of all law students in 1985 and rising steadily since then, totaling between 48% and 49% every year since 2000.

• Women represented 30% of practicing attorneys in 2005.

• Since the mid-80s, the number of minority law students has doubled, reaching at least 20% of all law students since 1995. As of 2005, minorities represent 21% of all law students.

      Law Firms

• According to a 2003 report by the EEOC, the most pressing equal employment issue in large national firms is no longer hiring but conditions of employment, especially promotion to partnership. In smaller firms, hiring may be more of issue.

• Women represent 17.29% of law firm partners but 44.12% of associates as of 2005.

• Attorneys of color represent 4.63% of partners but 15.62% of associates as of 2005. Overall, 40.3% of firm offices have no partners of color.

     General Counsels at Fortune 500 Companies

• Women represent 16.6% of general counsels in Fortune 500 companies as of 2006. (Minority Corporate Counsel Association, 2006 “Fortune 500 General Counsel Survey”)

      State and Federal Judges

• Women represent 23% of federal judges. Persons of color represent 17% of federal judges.

• Women represent 28% of judges in state courts of last resort.

      Law School Faculty

• Women represent 19% of law school deans, and minorities represent 12%.

• Women represent 26% of tenured law school professors, and minorities represent 14%.

• Women represent 44% of associate professors, and minorities represent 29%.

• Women represent 45% of assistant professors, and minorities represent 30%.

Personal Statistics of Attorneys back to top

• 84% of female attorneys were married or living with a partner who worked full-time, but only 44% of male attorneys had spouses or partners who worked full-time in a 2001 study by Catalyst. (Catalyst, “Women in Law: Making the Case,” sampling 6,300 law school graduates from the classes of 1970 to 1999. Hereafter, “Women in Law Study”)

• Male attorneys are more likely to be married than their female peers. Male attorneys are also more likely to be married than their male age cohorts in the general population, according to a 2004 study of more than 5000 lawyers. (The NALP Foundation and the American Bar Foundation, “After the JD: First Results of a National Study of Legal Careers.” Hereafter, “AJD Study.”)

• Both male and female attorneys in the AJD Study were less likely to have children than their age cohorts in the general population, but this gap is much larger for women than for men. (AJD Study)

• Marriage and children imply “significant career sacrifices” for women but “career advantages” for men. Married male lawyers typically earn more than unmarried lawyers. Married male lawyers with children earn even more. (AJD Study)

Women Attorneys: Career Paths and Income back to top

• The majority of men and women go to law school for the same reasons, and over 70% of men and women begin their legal careers in law firms. However, “over time their career paths diverge,” resulting in fewer women than men working in law firms. (Women in Law Study)

• Of law students graduating in the 1970s, twice as many women as men worked in the education or corporate sector, rather than firms, as of 2001. Of graduates from the 1980s and 1990s, 50% of men were still in firms but only 40% of women as of 2001. (Women in Law Study)

• Women are more likely to work in government, legal services, public defender positions, public interest law positions, and non-profit or education positions. Men are more likely to work in private practice. (AJD Study)

• “Current patterns suggest” that women will increasingly move out of private law firms and into government and corporate counsel positions, according to the AJD Study.

• There is an “earnings disparity” between women and men attorneys in every practice setting. Men out-earn women in every setting, except for private firms of 101-250 lawyers and the non-profit/education sector where the difference is fairly small. In law offices with over 250 lawyers, there is a $15,000 gap in women and men’s salaries. (AJD Study)

Attorneys of Color: Career Paths back to top

• With the exception of Asians, the representation of minorities in law has not kept pace with their presence in the U.S. population. Opportunities within law vary by race and ethnicity, even as of two to three years out of law school. (AJD Study)

• African-Americans are more likely than members of any other race to work in government, and, along with Hispanics and Asians, more likely to work for non-profit organizations. Asians are more likely than members of all other groups except whites to be working in business settings. (AJD Study)

Part-Time Attorneys back to top

• Although 96% of large law firms have part-time programs, only 4% of attorneys work a part-time schedule. 5% of associates work part-time, and 3% of partners work part-time. (NALP, November 17, 2005 Press Release, “Part-Time Attorney Schedules Available but Under-Utilized”)
• 34% of female law school graduates have worked part-time but only 9% of men have. (Women in Law Study)

Attorney Attrition & Satisfaction back to top

• 43% of new associates leave their firms within 3 years of being hired, but NALP Foundation research has found that the attrition rates for women and attorneys of color are “significantly higher” than those of non-minorities. (The NALP Foundation, 1998, "Keeping the Keepers: Strategies for Associate Retention in Times of Attrition." Hereafter, “Keeping the Keepers Study.”)
• Associates’ evaluations of their first year’s practice experience formed the basis for their decision to stay or leave a particular firm. (Keeping the Keepers Study)
• “[Associates’] decision to stay or leave [their firms] was most frequently affected by the amount of feedback, the quality of attorney management, the availability of mentoring, the amount of communication with the partnership, and the unspoken firm policy on the balance of law practice and life.” (Keeping the Keepers Study)
• Women who are more likely to stay at their current employers longer than their counterparts are more satisfied with (i) advancement opportunities, (ii) availability of mentors, (iii) management of their organization, (iv) professional development opportunities, and (v) control over their work. (Women in Law Study)
• Greater flexibility in work arrangements is one of top five reasons why women law graduates would leave their current employer, but the availability of flexible work schedules is not on the top five list for men. (Women in Law Study)
• Women are significantly more satisfied with the substance of their work than men. However, women are significantly less satisfied than men with job setting, “social value” (defined as the relationship between work and broader social issues like workplace diversity, opportunities to do pro bono, and social value of the work), and the power track (defined in terms of compensation levels and opportunities for advancement). (AJD Study)
• African-American respondents in the AJD Study expressed the highest levels of satisfaction with the substance of their work but lower levels with the social value of their work and the lowest of all groups with the power track. (AJD Study)
• In the AJD Study, Hispanic respondents’ satisfaction with social value and power track were similar to the satisfaction of African-American respondents, i.e., lower than average. (AJD Study)

• Asian attorneys expressed the lowest levels of satisfaction with the substance of their work, but, along with whites, the highest level of satisfaction with job setting, and high levels of satisfaction with the power track. (AJD Study)

Barriers to Women's Advancement back to top

• Over 50% of women say exclusion from informal networks is a barrier to women’s advancement, but only 21% of men see it as a barrier to women’s advancement. (Women in Law Study)
• Over 50% of women say lack of mentoring opportunities is a barrier to women’s advancement, but only 29% of men agree. (Women in Law Study)
• 67% of women say commitment to personal/family responsibilities is a barrier to women’s advancement, but only 49% of men agree. (Women in Law Study)
• Women attorneys are more likely than men to report discriminatory behavior. (AJD Study)

Women and Networking back to top

• Women have different networking patterns than men, just two to three years into their careers. Men are more likely to join partners for breakfast or lunch, to write for publications or to join firm governance committees. In contrast, women are more likely than men to participate in “less influential firm committees.” (AJD Study)

 *Please note that these links, summaries and statistics are provided as a resource to our readers and clients. To the extent possible, Career Women's Initiative has made diligent efforts to verify the information provided on our Resources page. However, we recommend that readers verify information with the original source. back to top