« Interested in the NYC & San Francisco Markets? | Main | Networking & Informational Interviewing »
November 22, 2006
Women of Color & Large Law Firms
The American Bar Association has just released a report, Visible Invisibility: Women of Color in Law Firms, based on a two-year study by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession. The ABA's study examines what happens between year one, when women of color enter the firm, and year five -- which is often when women of color leave their firms. Among the findings: nearly half of the women of color surveyed reported that they experienced overt racism or received demeaning comments; 44% of women of color said they were denied assignments to work on financially significant cases; and almost two-thirds said they were excluded from networking opportunities, both formal and informal. Lack of effective mentoring was cited as a major concern for women of color, and high attrition rates create a vicious cycle in this regard (few mentors are one reason women of color leave). As part of the report, the ABA makes several recommendations to help reverse the trend. Information about this report should be available at www.abanet.org in the near future.
Posted by smp20 at November 22, 2006 08:55 AM