Response # 39

In order to have a balance in the work and family life there needs to be an equality that exists between men and women. English states a few institutions that need to be emplaced that will help create the solution to the balance. One is the assistance of childcare in the workforce. Childcare needs to be available for women to have careers in the legal field and also let them be a mother and wife as well. Men need to understand that suppression of women is no longer legal and discrimination needs to be acted upon with harsh punishments. Civil rights movements need to be continued to insure that women will continue to receive the same treatment as men do and also to close the wage gap that exists in today’s world. English provides a lot of detail as to how the future needs to play out for such equality to exist. Her re-imaging the future holds many well-established values that can help solve the problem of discrimination against women in the legal field. However, the most important way to reshape the future is for women today, right now, to push on the “glass ceiling”. To scream enough! Stop allowing for such inequality to continue and to pursue through the law punishment to those who neglect to change. As it was shown in the previous blog women have been breaking the glass ceiling for hundreds of years and although women have come along way in the view of the public, there is much more room to be covered. It is up to everyone including men to put an end to the discrimination that occurs to women and minority women everyday. The treatment and the lack of respect through salary is not something that should be going on in the 21st century.

Response # 38

Judge Jane M Boulin was the first black law grad from Yale Law School. She is also the first black judge in the state of New York. She gave the opening for minorities to be able to pursue a degree and have the ability to practice law in a society that at the time was very much segregated. It gave other minorities hope and encouragement to break the “glass ceiling” that existed during that time. She worked for her father as a clerk until she passed the New York State bar exam in 1937. Mayor LaGuardia promoted her to judge of domestic relations court where she served for forty years. She is a role model in the field of law to show that breaking the glass ceiling is a possible when all odds are against a person. It provides the power for women in today’s world to continue to push on the ceiling in order for it to change. Just hoping it will change at some point in time cannot do it. Women need to take a stand for what they believe in and speak out against things that are not just. Another important woman is by the name of Myra Bradwell. Myra Bradwell studied law with her husband who was a judge. She later applied to take the Chicago bar in which she was denied access. She took her case to the U.S. Supreme Court where the states’ ruling was upheld. The Supreme Court stated that women do not belong in the positions to interpret law. Rather their primary role was to be a wife and a mother and this was by the law of the creator. This is significant because later in 1885 the decision was overturned and Bradwell was given the license to practice law. It was the first time a women was able to break the glass ceiling and prove to society that they have the right and ability to practice law.

Response #37

The report titled Charting our Progress shows the increase in the amount of women who are participating in the field of law. Women in 2003 represent 50% of the entering law students into law schools. This was up form 45% from the year of 1994. This is an example that women are being able to practice law and are becoming more interested in the law. It also shows the rise in other areas such as women being part of large fortune 500 companies and also partners in large firms through out the country. However, women are still paid a much less wage than a male attorney on average. This is something that lacks in society today and must be brought to a close. Women are known to not be aggressive enough or even too aggressive at times along with becoming to emotionally involve with clients. These are many reasons as to why for the longest time women did not practice law. Men who interview prospects for their firm are still to this day asking women questions that are illegal to ask. They are asking women if they plan on having children and how their family is cooping with the big move. They have also been asked if they do have children and if they do would they be willing to keep up with the billing expectations the law firm has. It has also been shown that typically it used to be that men enjoyed and devoted their lives to the law. The wife would stay at home while the husband would put 70 to 8o hours a week in at the firm. This is also beginning to change and new women and men attorney are seeing that is not the life in which they wish to live. Many of them are going out on their own to develop their own practices to have more flexible hours.

Response # 36

Can corporate American lure the women back in to the industry? This is a tough question. I truly believe that some women are enticed by the fact of climbing the corporate latter to prove to not only themselves but also others that women can do the same things as men. However, I also believe that women tend to have different goals in life than men do. Men tend to want to provide the best life possible for their families. By having such goals they tend to sacrifice the time that is lost with their families. My mother is a Nurse for a large hospital in Southern Michigan. She has been practicing her field for around 23 years. She works with children on the pediatrics unit. Recently, a floor manager position opened up on her floor. Floor managers make a very nice salary. (Upwards of six figures in income.)I asked my mother is she was going to put in for the promotion. Her answer was No Way!! I asked her why. She said because she does not want to have the headaches and the responsibility that the managers have to deal with. She went on to say that the managers are salary awhile she is still hourly so for her she gets to work her three- twelve hour shifts a week and if she works more she is paid for it. Whereas the managers they tend to work close to fifty to sixty hours a week but are only being paid for forty. My mom said you are also the one in charge of making sure that the floor is staffed properly and dealing with patient issue that sometimes could have been avoided. She said she loves her job and she is content with where she is. She makes great money and says she gets to go into work perform her ability as a nurse and then punches out and leaves to return to her family.

Response # 35

The EEOC recommends certain balances for work/family life. It explores pitfall that each company posses and could do better to provide women and families with support for their work and family life. Providing assistance childcare is the major complication that women have in their lives to try and balance their work life and family life. Women are still the dominate person to take are of the children in the household and they also make up around 46% of the work force. They are performing two very important jobs which one is only bringing income into the household. Men have begun to take part in the childcare process but not at a level that will help alleviate the stress that women have been burdened with. It is extremely difficult for women to balance a work and family life when there is little assistance from their employers. In Chaudry’s book he gives plenty of real life examples as to why single mothers cannot always have a job. This is because they cannot find childcare in which they can afford. As soon as they do receive an income the government shuts them off of childcare and then the mother is working o send her child to a day care. As any person would say with common sense, that makes no sense. So therefore, the mothers have no other choice but to quit the job and return back on to the government subsidies. How are these mothers supposed to ever hold a career when there is no assistance for them to keep the career? Almost every mother in the book said the most difficult part was trying to find reliable safe childcare for her children. The job part was easy. It was the childcare that kept them from keeping the job long-term. This leads employers to believe that women are not dependable when they have children when really it is not that the women are not dependable, it is the employers who do not provide any assistance which would allow them to become dependable.

Response # 34

Joan Willams is the author of the book “Unbending gender”. She wrote this book to because as a women who has had a child her gender lead her in the direction of which career field she will be focused in. In her book she has many key terms that relate to the “Gender on Trial” book. Two important terms are market care and family work. Market care is work that is receives a payment. Family care is care that is given to the family where there is no compensation that is involved. Women usually have to take care of the household choirs and provide assistance to the elder. Women also are in charge of cooking family dinners and taking care of the children when they might be ill. She also chose the title because she said that although there has been some change in the history for women, it is still not what was hoped for 20 or 30 years ago. Society is still not bending the roles that women are allowed to be played. They are still very much expected to perform the same tasks they have been performing for many of years. Women still have to fight the stereotypes that have been placed on them for many years. They still are expected to perform the household choirs and now, in modern society, many women are in the workforce, which puts a greater demand on their presences. Williams explains in correlation with “Gender on Trial” those women are still being harassed and suppressed through the masculinity of males. There is still a great amount of unfairness that exists in workplaces due to the gender discrimination. Women have a hard time keeping a long-term job especially in the legal field due to the high stress and requirements many firms place on their associates. Women who have obligations at the home to find it very hard to coop with the stress and most often are forced to leave their jobs. In the video interview, one researches shows that women are being suppressed in their own homes. Some families keep the women at home to take care of the children. The men do not see the need for women to have a career and pay a daycare center when their wife’s can just be at home watching the children for free. This for some women do not allow them to ever pursue a career. Society has changed in regards to letting a woman into the workforce and valuing the service they may provide. However it has been found that the men themselves have not changed. Men continuously hold them back entering into the workforce at an equal level. This is an explanation the Joan Williams and the “Gender on Trial” book try to explain in the text. Women are not being suppressed to the same degree as they were 20 to 30 years ago. However, they are not close to being on the same level playing field as men are in current time.

Response #33

Women have advanced in the law field but still have many more hurdles to cover. The three women who left a large firm in New York to open the first all women firm in the city is one example. These three women “broke the glass ceiling” in the city by allowing women to have access to a established firm that understands the restrictions they posses due to their roles in the workforce and at home. It shows that women have been able to come a long way. Fifty years ago an it would have been a lot harder for these three women to leave a firm and open a all women firm. Many people in their previous firm considered them “crazy” for leaving. As one of the partners states that many lawyers who either have been laid off or who are seeking new employment, are asking these three women for advice on the best way to open their own firms. Although this is a major accomplishment for women, it is also the 21st century and the first all women law firm is being opened in the city of New York that is home to millions of people shows that much more road is need for pavement. Al long as women continue to challenge the “glass ceiling” that has been placed on them, to break it, will allow for women to further continue advancing in the legal field. Law firms will also need to accept that fact that women will need some different options when it comes to working. They will need flexible work schedules and more time off for parenting. This can be beneficial due to the fact that some women would prefer to come in later and work later. This would allow firms to extend their hours of operation for clients due to the flexibility that women would require.

Response #33

Women have advanced in the law field but still have many more hurdles to cover. The three women who left a large firm in New York to open the first all women firm in the city is one example. These three women “broke the glass ceiling” in the city by allowing women to have access to a established firm that understands the restrictions they posses due to their roles in the workforce and at home. It shows that women have been able to come a long way. Fifty years ago an it would have been a lot harder for these three women to leave a firm and open a all women firm. Many people in their previous firm considered them “crazy” for leaving. As one of the partners states that many lawyers who either have been laid off or who are seeking new employment, are asking these three women for advice on the best way to open their own firms. Although this is a major accomplishment for women, it is also the 21st century and the first all women law firm is being opened in the city of New York that is home to millions of people shows that much more road is need for pavement. Al long as women continue to challenge the “glass ceiling” that has been placed on them, to break it, will allow for women to further continue advancing in the legal field. Law firms will also need to accept that fact that women will need some different options when it comes to working. They will need flexible work schedules and more time off for parenting. This can be beneficial due to the fact that some women would prefer to come in later and work later. This would allow firms to extend their hours of operation for clients due to the flexibility that women would require.

Response #32

Men and women lawyers are held to very different standards when it comes to parenting between the two. Although the roles in the parenting world are beginning to shift from very traditional roles to more modern roles, typically, women are still more responsible for taking care of the household and the children within the family. Women are more often than not the first parent to be called when the child is at school and is not feeling very well. This makes a woman’s career very difficult to handle because not only do they have to worry about what the demands are of their job but also whether or not they can leave to go nurture their child. Men, who do care about their families and children as well, have a different goal in mind. Their goal is often to provide the financial support for the family. And the family accepts this role and understands that dad is not always going to be able to be around but this is only because he is working hard to allow for a healthy life. Suspect mothers are not taken very serious in the workforce. They are literally impossible to be a mother who works in the legal field. A single mother in her forties says that you cannot do it. The demands that both the legal field and your family place on them make it nearly impossible. Other mothers “downplay” their careers to other mothers so they do not have to receive the attitudes from other parents. Many parents think that women attorney’s children do not receive as much attention and do not feel that the child is being nurtured well. Being a “good mother” can be considered conflicting with the ambitions’ of becoming a good attorney. This is why many mothers “beat around the bush” when they are asked what type of profession they are in.

Response # 31

There are many issues that exist with the work place and balancing the family life in the legal profession for women and men. Women who enter into the legal field attempting to be the best associate they can be often times have to sacrifice a lot of family values in their own homes. They are able to be home for their children when they arrive to the house from school. Sometimes they have to miss their children’s events because they have important meetings in the firm that they cannot get out of. It also can bring a lot of tension into the household with husbands and wives. When a wife is an associate at a large firm and the husband has a more structured job where he works the regular 9 to 5, while the wife is working away the long hours at the firm, can make for a lot of tension. This does not allow healthy relationships for the mother, father, or the children in the household. Some solutions that have been tried to help these situations were more flexible hours or the acceptance of women working only part-time. There is also the possibility that women are able to work from home due to the technology that exists in the world today. However, this is not highly praised. Many male counterparts believe that it is unfair for their female counterparts to be able to have such flexible schedules while there demand is still high when they often times have families as well. It is hard for large firms to make exceptions for some associates while holding other to such firm guidelines. Therefore, women are expected to work the same hours as male associates and have the same workload as male associates. This makes a female have to sacrifice many things in order to live their dream career.

Response # 29

Minorities represent such a small portion of the total population that exists in law firms. These reasons are dues to the discrimination and racism that exists with in the law firm between the partners. A Chinese female attorney was given a Korean document and was asked if she was able to read it. She replied with no because the languages of Chinese and Korean are different. However the partners could not understand why this was so. A Native American was asked where his” tomahawk” was. All of these situations make for a very uncomfortable work environment in which the minorities leave the firm. Minority attorneys are not held on the same level as a white attorney. White attorney’s were who went to any law school were sometimes held higher than a minority that went to a top ten law school. This leaves minorities to feel unappreciated and not valued with in the firm. When this type of discrimination is distributed to the people of the firm, it contributes to the low representation of minorities in law firms. It does not allow for them to move up in the company when they are always competing for the approval of white partners who in some cases, the minorities are more qualified than the white partners. No one is willing to work under such treatment and this leaves only one option. The options for them to leave the firm and seek employment elsewhere or even start opening their own practices. And for the minorities who do stay at the firms, they have to prove themselves on a routine basis as to their competency of being an attorney. This complex situation because not only are they a women which is a challenge alone, but they are also a women who happens to be a minority. This set forth additional obstacles that in their everyday life during their career have to hurdle over.

Response # 28

President Barack Obama was considering Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. The media got a hold of this speculation and criticized on whether she should be nominated for this position. People who did not like her thought of very cleaver words to characterize her to determine to the public that she was not capable of serving on the Supreme Court. The major criticism she received was the lack of intelligence that was needed for such a position. She was not considered to be as smart as some other candidates who were more than likely men. The main factor for the criticism was because of her gender. She is a female and many people believe that women do not have the same capabilities, as do men. She was also characterized as being a “bully on the bench.” This was supposed to be a negative connotation because it would allow for her to not determine the law in a fairly manner. Another criticism is that she had a large ego. Assuming that men do not ever posses large egos ever in the Supreme Court. However, let’s face it, the people who serve on the Supreme Court do have the support for such egos. They have attended some of the most prestigious laws schools in the country. They have served for many other courts throughout the year and are some of the best candidates to interpret what was written in the constitution hundreds of years ago. All of the criticisms that Sonia received which, not to mention, some of them fabricated through the media, all were to suppose that she did not have to same capabilities that a man would be able to possess. This shows that the persisting existence of gender basis of whether mown belong in the field of law or not.

Response # 27

The competence gap that exists between male and female lawyers is important. The definition of the competence gap is when a female attorney or any attorney has to continually keep proving themselves to demonstrate that there know what they are doing. Some consequences that women have to face do to this theory, is that they are somewhat discriminated against at taking on big cases for large firms or losing important potential clients. This can become very discouraging for a female and can drive them out of the firm or even the profession. Some techniques that male attorney’s will use against a female attorney is try to prove that the female attorney is not capable of her position as an attorney. Or they will try to prove that she has missed a huge point in proving her case, which would make her unqualified to win a case. This can lead to a very emotional trial. Female attorney’s who cannot handle the consistent criticism would break down and it would prove the male attorney’s point. AN example of this is seen in the movie “Class Action.” The male attorney and female attorney are representing two different sides of the case. It happens that the woman is the daughter of the male attorney is the movie. Throughout the movie he tries to show to her and the court that she is not as qualified of an attorney as he is. Therefore, the evidence he produces and the statements he makes are more valid than hers. She does very well at countering back at his invalid statements because she is a very good attorney. She has to also prove to her partners in the firm who are males that she is able and qualified to take on such a large client who brought in so much money to the firm.

Response # 26

The roles that males play in assisting women lawyers in some firms can be extremely important. Women a woman is talking with a huge client who has the potential to bring the firm a large sum of money, and the female attorney feels that the client is still on the edge, the female will go get some enforcement. Most of the time it is a male to assure the client that they are making the right decision. If in court a female attorney is questing a witness and she does not feel that the jury is picking up on her point or getting it she will have a male attorney re-ask the same question to make them seem more powerful or truthful. This shows that the men play a large role in the assistance of women lawyers. For example my mother was suing an insurance company for a car accident that she was involved in. At first she had a female attorney that was representing her. When the case went in front of the judge the insurance company had a male attorney representing them. My mother’s attorney made her statement and then the insurance attorney made his claim. The big boss for the firm that my mother was being represented by saw that the judge was beginning to side with the male attorney and therefore he stepped in. He stepped in with real force and showed his presence as a piece of evidence that my mother should without a doubt win this case. In return, my mother did win the case and thankfully the male attorney showed p to the court that day because otherwise there could have been a possibility the she would not have won. Once the male attorney made his claim for my mother it was clear what the judge was going to do. He soon after awarded my mother her share of the money that she was entitled to and the case was completed.

Response #25

Some pros and cons in the term “a weapon in the arsenal” are black and white. Some people feel that it is ok for women to use their sexuality to advance their careers. While others feel that it is not okay because to recast the stereotypes that exist on women in the workforce. Women can use their sexuality to advance their careers because they can persuade judges or clients and even partners to side with them. They can be flirtatious and give a warm caring sense to the firm. Some male lawyers say that many successful women lawyers are successful in part because they learned how to master the skill. Therefore, they state that if it workers then use it because it’s a tool that most often times men cannot use in the courtroom. This would allow the women to have an extra weapon that is natural to them only and not men. However, other people believe that it can’t hurt the reputation that women may have in the field. It will continue to have the stereotype that women only get hired or promoted because they are good looking not because of the “lawyering” skills they possess. Others believe that it can give the wrong signals to clients. Some clients can become emotionally attached to their attorney’s that are women. This also allows or the continuation of sexual harassment to occur in the workforce. Male partners can flirt back with female lawyers, which can provide a sexual environment for the rest of the workers who may not be comfortable with the situation. All in all, I agree that if women choose to use the flirting skill to advance their careers that is there own purgative. However, I do not believe that women should then be allowed to pull the sexual harassment card or “unfair card” because they chose to take a more risky path than what should have been taken

Response #24

I interviewed a friend that is in her first year at law school in Michigan. She has always wanted to attend law school but started her career at Michigan State University, and thought that maybe law was not for her. It was expected that she put such great time and effort into studying that she wanted to explore other options. She finished her degree at Rochester College and is now attending Oakland University law school. When I asked her if she felt any pressure or felt stereotyped on the expectations while she was attending law school, she did not have any direct answers that were personal. Instead, she said she did seem from professor to professor that women professors in law school were harder on the female students rather than the male students. At first I found this surprising. However, it somewhat makes sense. Women Lawyers want women law students to be successful and taken serious in the law field. Therefore, this may have an effect on them pushing women law students a little harder than males. Males tend to have an easier role in society n what type of job they will receive and more often with a little higher pay. She also noticed that the women were the most competitive in the classes. They were the ones to withhold information from other people. This could be that women feel they need to be the best of the best or otherwise they might not be able to obtain a well paying job because they could not outdo there counterparts. Whatever the reasons, it shows that the stereotypes exist in the real world and especially in law school. Women feel there is a greater need for them to succeed in the law profession because the competition is so much higher for them than men.

Response #23

Women have come along way in the fashion of law and becoming a lawyer. They are more reprehensive in the application process and the process of women entering law schools. Many law schools provide the statistical data that shows their classes are almost fifty-fifty in the ration fro male and female. One example is the writing of Sandra Day O’Connor. She said that she always wanted to be on a cattle ranch because that is what she loved to do. However, while she was attending college a professor convinced her to go on and becoming something great and change the world. However, she said when she graduated law school in the 1950’s it was very difficult for her to find a job as a women lawyer. She states that for a while she would take jobs that did not pay her anything because the fact that she was a women. However, she persevered through the gender inequality and became an astonishing attorney and part of the politics world. This can make it very discouraging for women to further their education in the field of law. However, women should not let this hold them back. They need to take a stand, which, they have been doing, in the past years, and continue to pursue a career in law school. These will continue to break down that “invisible” wall and help women become successful lawyers in the world today. It will also allow for women to become more involved and represented in the politics side of the law. Which may help in pulling the power away from the power elite males and creating laws that are legally just and do not allow further discrimination on the basis of ones gender nor the color of their skin. Allowing women to succeed in a law school and in a career.

Response #22

Sonia has been was discriminated against due to the race and gender she possess. Sonia was not elected or appointed to the Supreme Court because for her race and gender. Women are typically stereotyped to not be in high power with the law. They are thought to have too much of an emotional tie to a situation and that could slant the law in favor of someone. This would allow for many loop holes to develop in the system itself or so they say. Black women find it even more difficult to gain high access to a power position. Although the constitution states that every one will be treated equally, and our nation ahs abolished slavery for over 100 years, discrimination still persist due to the color of ones skin. Black women are the most often stereotyped into racism categories. They have two things that currently have a negative affect on them to the politics society. First being they are a black person and second that they are a women. This country for the first time has a person of color in office. During the campaigning, the Democratic Party had a person of color, President Obama, and a women running for the democratic position, Hillary Clinton. People are stereotyped into different groups on a daily basis. People of color and women often tend to be looked down upon by fellow citizens who feel that white males should dominate the political office. Therefore, women and people of color are portrayed to be not as competent in the ability to run a country or state. This has led to the persistence in the uneven distribution of women and people of color in our elected positions to represents our nation. Sonia was stereotyped and therefore was not able to sit in the supreme court due to that fact that or in part, she was a women and a women of color.