Today
Though women had made enormous progress in the field of law they are still facing many obstacles in the profession. Women are still facing the typical stereotypes as when they started, they are seen as the "other" against the standard middle-class, able-bodied, white male (Bagust, 2012, p.141). Because of the mother and homemaker stereotypes they are viewed disapprovingly with stricter evaluations on their accomplishments no matter the amount of time they spend working. Some of the typical obstacles women are still facing in the legal profession consist of but are not limited to:
-lack of mentoring and support networks
-inflexible work structure
-sexual harassment
- gender bias in the Justice System itself
-receive grunt work or less desirable assignments
The legal field is highly structured and geared for long hours leaving no time for leisure pursuits and little time for a family. Because decisions about partnerships are typically made between the fifth and eight year of working of a firm women are being left out as this is also the time many women have children. With the legal field being so structured and not accommodating to a flexible schedule, women are having to go part-time or leave private practices losing the ability to become a partner of a firm. According to the American Lawyer Survey women only make up 17% of partners in the top 200 law firms (Beiner, 2011, p.686). The field has slightly changed in structure, however some of the broader aspects such as those listed above have been left untransformed leaving room for improvement in the legal profession structure.
-lack of mentoring and support networks
-inflexible work structure
-sexual harassment
- gender bias in the Justice System itself
-receive grunt work or less desirable assignments
The legal field is highly structured and geared for long hours leaving no time for leisure pursuits and little time for a family. Because decisions about partnerships are typically made between the fifth and eight year of working of a firm women are being left out as this is also the time many women have children. With the legal field being so structured and not accommodating to a flexible schedule, women are having to go part-time or leave private practices losing the ability to become a partner of a firm. According to the American Lawyer Survey women only make up 17% of partners in the top 200 law firms (Beiner, 2011, p.686). The field has slightly changed in structure, however some of the broader aspects such as those listed above have been left untransformed leaving room for improvement in the legal profession structure.