Speak Up: Ten Years Later
43
b. Student Findings For students, advocacy is the primary reason they seek out interactions with professors. When students were asked how important they believed participation—in any form—was for a variety of outcomes, more than 76% of students said that they believed participation was very important or critical for obtaining better clerkship or fellowship recommendations, and more than 51% believed it was very important or critical for obtaining better recommendations for other jobs. Most jobs and clerkships require at least three recommenders. Students generally need at least two (and often three) professors advocating for them to secure these positions. Most students report that they have at least two YLS professors that they would feel comfortable asking for a reference. •
Only 56.2% of men and 44.5% of women have three or more professors they feel they could ask for a job reference, but only 44.5% have three or more.
•
Those numbers are slightly lower for letters of recommendation: only 48.9% of men and 33.5% of women have three or more professors they feel they could ask for a letter of recommendation. (Figure 4) FIGURE 4. PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO FEEL COMFORTABLE ASKING FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROFESSOR ADVOCACY 60%
50%
40%
Men
30%
Women 20%
10%
0% Reference
Recommendation