Women in all careers are forced to balance work and family, but in the legal profession it is even more difficult.
In English’s book, a female partner in a law firm says, “Questions of consistency, of reliability are still alive. Most women try to balance both family obligations and work obligations. So a woman might ask one of the people who works with her to assist her, to cover a meeting for her. Her male colleagues would say that’s her responsibility. To certain people that would be read as, she had to take her kid to school or be at the important cupcake party.” A woman’s dedication is questioned when she has to leave work or dedicate some of her time to her family.
As a result, women want to get into firms and develop their practices quickly before they have children or put off having children until they are older because they have to work constantly. Women are forced to choose between which facet of their life to put on the back burner and which to go full speed ahead into.
Flexible work arrangements are extremely important in order to help female lawyers balance their work and family lives. Many of the respondents in English’s study said that the solutions to this problem—flexible work schedules, reduced hours, telecommuting, job shares, etc.—rarely work out. One recruiter English interviewed said “life stinks for all these lawyers, and it becomes nearly impossible to function competitively once you’ve had a kid if you’re a woman.”
Part time work or flexible schedules are an option and have been proven to help women who must find balance, but when a female lawyer takes on a part time law position, she almost disappears from the practice. English reports that almost 95% of all law firms offer part-time positions, but only around 3% of lawyers take advantage of them. The majority of men and women who did not take flexible schedules said that they thought if they took a part time schedule, they would not be able to advance in the firm.
Flexible schedules have not worked out because most people think that how people work on alternative schedules is not fair. There is all around hostility to change.
About Me
- Kasey
- I will be graduating from Arizona State University in December. Even though I feel like I have made the most of my college career, I am scared about what the future holds for me. Graduate studies are in my future, but what I ultimately want to do with my life, well, that is in limbo. I want to make a difference. I want to be challenged and challenge other people. I am an alumni of Omega Phi Alpha, National Service Sorority. I served as president in my final year, and it was definitely a challenge. Now, I am helping to found an organization on campus called Running Start, which is a non-profit geared toward getting young women interested in running for political office.
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