Powerful Arguments: Take The Lead, Center For Women In Law Launch New Program
The CBS-TV show, “All Rise,” features Simone Missick (center) as a judge with a diverse, mostly female team, not the norm in the legal profession.
In the popular CBS-TV show, “All Rise,” Lola Carmichael, a Black judge who is newly appointed to the bench, fights for justice with her female-led, diverse and inclusive team. They all wear gorgeous outfits and tend to their complicated and fulfilling personal lives outside the courtroom. They share wisdom, prevail at work, network, laugh; they are all perceived as powerful.
“The @CBS TV show, “All Rise,” features @SimoneMissick as a judge with a diverse, mostly female team, not the norm in the legal profession. #femalelawyer #womeninlaw”
This is inspiring, but definitely fictional compared to the real-life experiences of lawyers in this country who identify as female, and BIPOC lawyers especially.
Addressing this imbalance and proposing a fair way forward is a new, virtual three-part program launching in March from Take The Lead partnering with Center For Women in Law, “Powerful in 2021: Competence, Confidence and Intention for Women in Law.”
“Proposing a fair way forward for #womeninlaw is a new, virtual three-part program launching in March from @Takeleadwomen partnering with @CWILnews, “Powerful in 2021: Competence, Confidence and Intention for Women in Law.” #onlineworkshop”
“I think understanding power and intersectionality and crafting a career is important for all young lawyers,” says Susan Blount, president-elect of Center for Women in Law, Take The Lead Leadership ambassador and lead instructor of this initiative. “It is an opportunity for women that can be a difference maker,” says Blount, who says this set of workshops is aimed at women who are five to 10 years into the legal profession.
For all lawyers who identify as female, the ABA’s 2019 report, “Walking Out The Door: The Facts, Figures and Future of Experienced Women Lawyers in Private Practice,” illuminated startling perceptions and levels of frustrations.
Read more in Take The Lead on gender fairness in law
While zero of the men in the study said they were mistaken for a lower-level employee at the firm, 82% of women said they had been. While 63% of the women in the survey said they are perceived as less committed to their career, only 2% of men said the same. More than half, or 53% said they had been overlooked for advancement at the firm, while 7% of men reported that slight.
“ ABA’s 2019 report, “Walking Out The Door: The Facts, Figures and Future of Experienced Women Lawyers in Private Practice,” found that while zero of the men in the study said they were mistaken for a lower-level employee at the firm, 82% of women said they had been. #discrimination #womeninlaw”
Read more in Take The Lead on Center for Women in Law recent panel
As for compensation, 75% of men said they are satisfied, while only 61% of women said the same. Inversely, 38% of women said they are dissatisfied with their actual compensation, while only 17% of men reported dissatisfaction on compensation.
According to Bloomberg recently, “Black lawyers made up just over 2% of partners last year, crossing that threshold for the first time in over a decade, according to a 2020 National Association for Law Placement report. Black associates, overall, topped just 5%.”
In a new report for the American Bar Association, “Left Out and Left Behind: The Hurdles, Hassles, and Heartaches of Achieving Long-Term Legal Careers for Women of Color,” lead researcher and author Dr. Destiny Peery writes, “This study and previous research make clear that the legal profession continues to fail at retaining women of color due to stubborn barriers to advancement that result both from the traditional requirements of success in legal practice, as well as an exclusive professional culture that continues to reflect a narrow set of norms, assumptions, and expectations at odds with an increasingly diverse world.”
Read more in Take The Lead on women leaders in law
Blount, who served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Prudential Financial, Inc., where she was responsible for the company’s 700-person global law, compliance, business ethics and external affairs, will be leading the three-part, interactive online course on March 17, 24 and 31, along with speakers Gloria Feldt, CEO and co-founder of Take The Lead; Valerie Esparza at the Center for Women in Law; and Felicia Davis, Take The Lead leadership ambassador and founder of The Black Women’s Collective.
“Susan Blount, president-elect of @CWILnews, will be leading the three-part, interactive online course on March 17, 24 and 31, along with speakers @GloriaFeldt, CEO of @Takeleadwomen, Valerie Esparza of @CWILnews, and Felicia Davis @womenpoweredup. #womeninlaw ”
“My experience is women have spent less time on this topic of power and reflected less on this topic than men in general,” says Blount who is Vice Chair of the University of Texas Law School Foundation, her alma mater, and where the Center for Women In Law is housed. “I would have said one year ago, three years from now and always, this is a concern.”
With the curriculum targeted at women five to 10 years into their careers in any and all areas of the legal profession from private practice, corporate work, large law firms to nonprofits, the content will touch on landing management roles, expanding a practice, building a client base and getting the next promotion.
“@Takeleadwomen ‘s new course, “Powerful in 2021: Competence, Confidence and Intention for Women in Law,” will touch on landing management roles, expanding a practice, building a client base and getting the next promotion. Sign up here: https://courses.taketheleadwomen.com/womeninlaw”
Calling upon her own experiences in leadership in the program series, Blount began her career as an associate at Kirkland & Ellis, before joining Prudential’s Law Department in 1985 as an attorney in the company’s commercial real estate operations. During her career at Prudential, Blount held a variety of leadership positions in the Law Department.
Read more in Take The Lead on women-led firms
“I think the whole topic of power and how to think about it is now a conversation with more data and intellectual thought around it,” Blount says. “This is highly applicable to anybody who has aspirations in the legal profession.”
The latest survey from the National Association for Women Lawyers in 2019 reports that the progression of women’s careers is not equitable to that of men. While women are 47% of associates, they make up 30% of non-equity partners and about 20% of equity partners.
“The latest survey from the National Association for Women Lawyers in 2019 reports that the progression of women’s careers is not equitable to that of men. #socialjustice #genderequity #womenlawyers”
According to the report, “Women have made progress but still struggle for access to firm leadership positions, with 20-25% of governance and compensation committee members and office-level managing partners and practice group leaders are women, but women are largely unrepresented as firm managing partners.”
“It’s pretty clear there are huge discrepancies,” says Blount, “when you compare the number of women who enter the profession and the number of women who find themselves in seats of power after 20 years.”
““It’s pretty clear there are huge discrepancies,” says Blount of @CWILnews, “when you compare the number of women who enter the profession and the number of women who find themselves in seats of power after 20 years.” #womeninlaw #femalelawyers”
The NAWL recent report concurs with that assessment and also with the gender gap in compensation. According to the new study, “93% of firms reported that their most highly compensated attorney is a man. Of the top 10 revenue-generating attorneys, most firms have zero women in that group.”
And while diversity, equity and inclusion may be talking points in 2021, they are not realities.
NAWL reports, “The representation of diverse attorneys continues to lag behind that of women overall. Women of color are 14% of associates, 5% of non-equity partners, and 3% of equity partners. Altogether, people of color are 9% of equity partners. LGBTQI+ people are 4% of associates and about 2% of non-equity and equity partners. People with disabilities are less than 1% of associates, non-equity partners, or equity partners.”
“We are absolutely addressing intersectional content in this program and some of the challenges that women of color face and white women do not face,” says Blount. “That includes lack of mentors how look like you, role models who look like you and bias. We absolutely address those concerns.”
““We are absolutely addressing intersectional content in this program and some of the challenges that women of color face and white women do not face,” says Susan Blount, president-elect of @CWILnews about @Takeleadwomen ‘s upcoming #onlinecourse for #womeninlaw. ”
