Why is Women’s Leadership in Law Stalling?

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Last year, almost half (47.5 percent) of all graduates of law school were women. This is lower, actually, than it was in 2004, when it was 49.5 percent.

On its face, a two percent decrease doesn’t seem like that much, of course. But over the past decade, universities, law firms, professional organizations, and non-profits have poured tremendous effort into attracting young women to join the legal profession. By all accounts, that percentage should have risen much more than it decreased. It doesn’t make sense.

The reasons for the drop are unclear. Perhaps talented young women are being drawn into the worlds of finance, academia, the non-profit world, or other professions. It is interesting to note, though, that this year marked some other unfortunate downward trends. Women’s leadership in law is decreasing as well.

Women in Leadership Numbers
In early February, the American Bar Association published its annual Goal III report on women leaders in the legal profession. The report was first published in 1991, and since then, it has benchmarked the progress of women in the ABA. In the 1991 report, only 22 percent of women lawyers in the ABA were female. That percentage has risen incrementally by one or two points per year, reaching 33 percent for the 2014 report.

On the other hand, the report’s numbers on women in leadership are concerning. The percentage of women on the ABA’s Board of Governors has decreased every year since 2012, when it reached a high of 36.8 percent. Last year, the number was 28.9 percent, and this year, it’s only 25 percent. That’s quite a big drop in such a short amount of time. The percentage of women Section and Division chairs has also decreased, from 28.6 percent to 25 percent in the same amount of time.

The numbers bear out for new women partner as well. For example, Sara Randazzo remarked in the The Am Law Daily in January, five of the 51 Am Law 200 firms that had announced partner in the first week of the year did so without naming a single female partner.

“Whether or not this year’s absence of new female partners at the five firms is simply an aberration, it serves as a distressing reminder to some within the industry that institutional problems crop up long before attorneys are considered for partnership, making it difficult for women lawyers to make consistent gains at many of the nation’s largest firms,” Randazzo writes.

Indeed, it’s not just a lack of female new partners at five firms that is disconcerting. There’s a broader trend that shows fewer new women leaders in law this year. Randazzo continues:

“All told, 30.6 percent of the 493 new partners promoted by the 51 Am Law 200 firms that had announced this year’s promotions as of Thursday are women, according to an Am Law Daily analysis. While there are still dozens of firms that have yet to announce, the early numbers are worse than those the Am Law Daily tracked in 2013, when 34 percent of the new partners across The Am Law 200 were women, and in 2012, when 32 percent were women.”

How is it possible that the numbers are dropping, at a time when so many organizations have dedicated so much to promoting women in leadership?

Vigilance and Work
“We must redouble our efforts to open doors, break down barriers, and continue to fill the pipeline of women in all arenas in the legal profession,” the ABA report says. If nothing else, the numbers show that gender parity for leaders in the legal profession – any profession for that matter – requires constant vigilance, and more than vigilance, it requires real, hard work. The report continues:

“An entity’s commitment, or lack thereof, to diversity has far-reaching effects on its future and the Association. Women, particularly women of color, will be unlikely to attempt to become actively involved in the ABA or its sections or divisions in increasing numbers if pathways to leadership are limited or blocked. To attract women as members and leaders, many sections and divisions must continue to make a concerted effort to improve opportunities and support for women at all levels of leadership.”

Women’s graduation rates from law school is slowing. So is rate at which women are making it into leadership ranks in the ABA and at law firms. It’s hard to believe this is a coincidence. Perhaps young women are looking into the profession, and they are seeing the systemic bias that makes it harder for women to reach partner, or earn a pay rate that is commensurate with her male colleagues. Perhaps when they see the people elected and encouraged to lead, they aren’t seeing enough dynamic and powerful female leaders to emulate. So they are looking for promising careers elsewhere. That would be a shame for law firms and the clients who employ them.

Because increasing the percentage of women in law isn’t just a numbers game. It’s a matter of making sure the profession attracts and retains the best and brightest people – from the associate level all the way to the top.