Voice of Experience: Linda Rappaport, Partner, Shearman & Sterling

Linda RappaportBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“Don’t be afraid to speak up for yourself,” advises Linda Rappaport, a senior partner at international law firm Shearman & Sterling LLP and Practice Group Leader Emeritus of the firm’s Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits/Private Client Group. “And be really prepared – there’s no substitute for being good at what you do.”

Rappaport knows all about being good. She has earned a reputation as one of the top executive compensation lawyers in the US and Europe, working with major financial services firms, entertainment companies and other organizations.

Her rise to prominence was no accident. Rather, Rappaport says, it was the product of traditional business values: hard work, a commitment to client service and a genuine interest in the area in which she practices. “Make sure you enjoy what you do,” she said. “You’re not going to enjoy every moment of every day, but if you’re excited by the ideas, people will sense that and will respond with enthusiasm as well.”

“You want work to be challenging. Never in one day of my life at Shearman & Sterling have I been bored – and I consider that a gift. I’ve been engaged, excited, challenged and occasionally even scared or nervous, which is perfectly appropriate sometimes. That’s a wonderful thing,” she added.

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Facing Failure: Why Resilience Must be Part of Leadership Development

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)
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“The public seems to hold the belief that the fight for parity has been won,” said Sara Manzano-Diaz, Director of the Women’s Bureau at the United States Department of Labor.

She continued, “We know that’s not the case.”

Manzano-Diaz spoke Monday afternoon the National Council for Research on Women‘s panel discussion on building the pipeline of women for leadership in the public, private, and non profit sectors. Linda Basch, President of the NCRW explained, “Today we’re exploring a particularly vexing problem… the stalled pipeline to women’s leadership.”

“When I run into young women today… many think the world is their oyster and that anything is possible,” she continued. “But a few years out, I see some frustrated and demoralized young women.”

Statistics show that females are outpacing males at almost every level during their education. Yet, women drop off the career path in their early 30s in startling numbers. The result is that only about 15-18% of leadership roles in the United States are held by women. The panel discussed possible reasons why larger numbers of women are not making it to the top layers of the leadership pyramid, while highly educated and capable women are in no short supply at its base.

One key issue panelists settled on is resilience – that today’s young women are unprepared to face adversity.

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Op-Ed: Overcoming the Main Barriers to the Advancement of Women in Law

iStock_000008227662XSmallContributed by Sandra Roberts

As a female attorney, I often witness firsthand the barriers that women face in advancing careers in finance, law, and business. Rarely are women promoted as often as men in these fields, and more tragically, their salaries typically remain lower.

According to a recent research study in 2010 from the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), a majority of staff attorneys at large law firms are women. Women make up about 60% of the staff attorneys at a large law firm, which means they have little to no chances of receiving promotions or moving up to partner. In addition, further research from the NAWL found that over 90% of law firms terminated lawyer positions in the year of 2010 for economic reasons. While the numbers of men and women laid off were in equal percentages, the highest number of terminations occurred amongst part-time attorneys. Unfortunately, a majority of women hold positions as part-time attorneys, meaning more women than men were let go. In 83% of firms that let go part-time attorneys, women made up a larger percentage than men.

Even more disheartening, women only currently make up 15% of the partners at law firms across the country. This number also compares with the business field, in which only 11% of senior executives at Fortune 500 companies are women.

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Honoring Trailblazers at the NCRW Women of Vision Awards

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iStock_000006712763XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Last night the National Council for Research on Women hosted this year’s Making a Difference for Women Awards Dinner. Honorees included Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, United Nations; Peter and Patricia Gruber, Founders of the Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation; Ed Gilligan, Vice Chairman of American Express; Dr, Ruth J. Simmons, President of Brown University; and Muriel Siebert, Founder & CEO of Muriel Siebert & Co., Inc.

Event emcee Natalie Morales, NBC Today Co-host and National Correspondent, noted, “Women and girls are showing us that they have the talent and the skills to inspire us, and can pretty much do it all.”

But, she continued, “we still have a long way to go.”

The individuals the NCRW honored last night have shown remarkable vision and effort toward advancing women. Yet they each recognized that there is more work needed before gender equality becomes reality.

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