May 13, 2021

Wage Gaps and Cutthroat Culture Highlight Gender Disparity, ABA Report Finds

     

In a new report undertaken by the American Bar Association, several key aspects of the legal profession are causing women attorneys to consider leaving the field, notes Law360. Among the most significant factors are the persistent pay gap based on gender and the hyper-individualistic, competitive nature of the industry, which often pits lawyers against one another, degrading any sense of community workplace culture. Such cutthroat culture leads to attorneys feeling isolated.

The study, written by Joyce Sterling and Linda Chanow, utilized focus groups and interviews with 100 lawyers. The researchers focused on factors that influence lawyers to remain in the profession, switch jobs, or leave the industry entirely. Forty percent of lawyers who left the profession in 2019 were women, yet they constitute only 37% of all lawyers and only 25% of partners.

Among respondents, the researchers noted that women of color were even more likely to experience these factors, which is confirmed by their attrition rates, higher than any other group in the profession. 

The ABA report also gibed with other long-term studies that note many women in the legal profession exit the field at the zenith of their careers, which has a knock-on effect because these professionals have accrued significant power and influence within the profession and yet, for the reasons noted by the ABA researchers, they choose to leave, which affects not only their individual careers but lessens the power they have to improve conditions for early-career lawyers.

According to Sterling and Chanow, unless the profession undertakes major overhauls, these disparities will continue, and likely worsen. They call for more focus on “longevity” and retention as well as an increased focus on providing resources for women who, as we’ve noted before, have significantly more social reproduction responsibilities.

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Female Flight Attendants and Pilots File Discrimination Suit Against Frontier Airlines, Alleging Discrimination against Pregnant and Nursing Mothers

January 13, 2020
Gender Discrimination
Pregnancy Discrimination
Two lawsuits were filed against Frontier airlines alleging that the Company required pregnant employees to suspend work duties months before they were scheduled to give birth, forcing employees to use their vacation days in lieu of paid time off, take unpaid maternity leave without Frontier providing alternatives for work, and refuse to accommodate breastfeeding and pregnant workers.

New Report from Uber Highlights the Risks of Driving in the Gig Economy

January 6, 2020
Sexual Harassment
Among the most significant risks to Uber drivers were those in the form of sexual and physical assault on the job, with 42% of assault cases being reported by drivers. The most common assault reported by drivers and riders was "non-consensual touching of a sexual body part," with 1,560 cases reported in 2018 alone.

Artificial Intelligence May Make HR's Job Easier, but Employment Discrimination Still Abounds

December 23, 2019
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Hiring companies and HR departments increased use of AI tools actively bar candidates from being considered for employment.

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