Where Have The Female Lawyers Gone?

Lack Of Gender Diversity

I have worked in the legal field for over a decade. In that time, I can count the number of women supervisors and colleagues on my hand. Many times I felt like an outcast. I was usually the only woman in the room. It was daunting, to say the least. Daunting because representation matters.

For many years the legal field has been made up of predominately white males, making up 81% of lawyers. However, according to the 2022 American Bar Association, (ABA) there is slow growth of women and minority attorneys in the legal field. There is still much progress to be made.

“More than a third of all lawyers are women, and that number is growing. Ten years ago, 33% of all lawyers were female. Today, it is 38%. In other words, the percentage of women in the profession is growing at roughly one-half of 1% per year. A small number of lawyers (0.2%) said they are neither male nor female.” 

But wait a minute…How is it that the ABA publishes a study stating women lawyers are on the rise when it appears they lead in the field already?

Women Are The Majority In Law School

Yes, that is correct. More than 1 in 3 women are lawyers. So where have all the women gone?

I believe it comes down to expectations. Expectations society places on women and expectations women place on themselves. Before you read me the riot act, let’s dig a little deeper. If women make up the majority in law school, what happens after graduation?

The American Bar Association came out with a report entitled “Walking Out the Door: The Fact, Figures, and Future of Experienced Women Lawyers In Private Practice,” authored by Roberta D. Liebenberg and Stephanie A. Scharf. It was concluded women are more inclined to leave the field than men.

Women are dominating the law school sphere but seem unable to hold on in the working world.

According to the report referenced above, several factors were listed by women attorneys for leaving the field.

1.) “Caretaking commitments”

2.) “Level of stress at work”

3.) “Marketing and originating business”

4.) “Billable hours”

Of the factors listed, “caretaking commitments” were number one. Wouldn’t it be safe to ask what is going on at home?

Which leads us back to expectations. “Oh boy, there’s that word again.”

Women are the primary caretakers in the home.

In order for more female representation to exist in the legal field, women need to feel like they belong there. How do I know? I am a woman. I have sat at an all-male table numerous times. I have struggled internally with my own belongings at those tables. I have questioned if my priorities were in fact in line with what society expects of me. I questioned if my home life was suffering as a result of my career decisions. I questioned if I deserved to be at those tables.

However, enough is enough! This isn’t the 1950s anymore where the woman’s place belongs in the home. Women have the choice now. Women can choose to stay at the table. Women also have the choice to be at the table and be home. Who said you can’t have it all right? But my point is that it’s okay to choose a decision that best suits them.

Women have to be comfortable making the decision that best suits them.

Why do female attorneys belong in the workplace? Remember, when I mentioned representation matters? Representation matters because it single-handedly affects, staff, morale, and clientele.

Back to me. Had I had fellow female representation at many of those meetings I was a part of, I would have felt seen and heard. That level of self-confidence would empower any employee. That empowerment spreads like wildfire to other staff.

Representation matters because when a client walks through your office doors and visually sees what the world reflects it puts them at ease. Most first-time clients are intimidated when walking into a law office. The more comfortable a client is, the more likely they are to be transparent with their attorney. The more transparency there is between attorney and client the better the outcome. That’s right. The better prepared an attorney is, with all facts of the case, the more likely they are to gain a judgment in their client’s favor.

Women Attorney’s Need to Stay In the Legal Field

So for any woman reading this, your presence in the legal field matters. It could be the difference in winning a case!