In Re Women Lawyers

By Emily VanTyle, Wilson Kehoe Winingham LLC

As Women’s History Month comes to a close next week, and with the confirmation hearings of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson underway, it’s important to reflect on the momentous gains women have made, but also the places we still have yet to go.

A Brief History
Before we can move forward, it’s often important to understand where we have been. Approximately 150 years ago, the first woman, Belva Lockwood, was admitted to the U.S. Bar on March 3, 1879. Only a year later, she argued a case before the entirely male U.S. Supreme Court. This is surprising, given that women did not gain the right to vote until August 18, 1920, following the ratification of the 19th Amendment. It was not until September 25, 1981, that the U.S. Supreme Court had its first female Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor. Arguably, the most famous female justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was only the second female justice ever to serve on the court, beginning in 1993 until her death in 2020.

On February 25, 2022, President Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the 116th Justice of the US Supreme Court. Judge Brown Jackson, if confirmed, would become the first Black female justice to the U.S. Supreme Court.  More starkly, of the court’s 233-year history, she would be only the 8th person who is not a white male.

The Current Legal Landscape
In a famous quote from Justice Ginsburg when asked when there will be enough women on the court, she famously replied, "When there are nine," going on to elaborate that there had been nine men on the court for years and no one had ever questioned it. Certainly, in recent years, the number of women attending law school has increased with recent studies showing that now for the first time, more women than men are attending. However, the many gains seem to stop there. By mid-career, women lawyers are earning less than their male counterparts. In addition, nationally only about 21 percent of all equity partners are female, of which only three percent are women of color. In a study performed by the ABA asking women why they left private law firms, over 58 percent reported because of caretaking commitments. Id.

Where do we go from here?
Although I certainly don’t pretend to espouse to have even one percent of the answers to solving the nuances of gender issues in the workplace, there are certainly things we all can do, regardless of our gender to support women. Here are few things we can do to support women in the legal profession:

1. Assess your gender bias. Do you always have a golf outing where you discuss business ideas? Does your female staff play golf? Do you grab beers after work but your female coworker can’t join because she has to pick her child up from daycare? It is important to create activities and spaces where upper management can get to know the staff as often those relationships are the ones that allow people to feel valued and secure in their place at their job. 
2. Create inclusive spaces. It is important at work women feel that their voice is valued and heard, whether that is support staff, associates, or partners. If management is comprised entirely of men, be intentional in hiring to add those unique voices or include them in your conversations. Create a work environment where all persons feel as though their opinions, ideas and thoughts, matter. When that occurs, true business growth, creativity and prosperity can occur. 
3. Be understanding. There is viral quote that has been floating around recently that succinctly states "women are supposed to work like they don’t have children and mother like they don't work outside the home." I think this sentiment was especially amplified during the pandemic. We are all doing what we can, but instead of focusing how a colleague was late to work for the sixth time, maybe ask yourself, "how can I lend a hand?" Maybe the problem is that person’s childcare keeps canceling because of COVID, or the furnace stopped working, or their parent who is elderly needs extra assistance. Many persons, especially women, carry unseen burdens. So, before we jump to conclusions, be understanding. 
4. Be a mentor/supportive. This plays off number three. Women can’t do it all. There simply isn’t enough time in the day. However, with understanding and room to grow and support, there can be more Judge Brown’s and Ginsburg’s. This could include taking a new female associate out to lunch to make them feel included or checking out IndyBar’s mentorship programs. There are lots of ways to support women in the often tough, daily job of being a lawyer.

If you would like to submit content or write an article for the Women and the Law Division, please email Kara Sikorski at ksikorski@indybar.org.

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