WELCOME | CBA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
M It’s Your Problem, Too Gender Bias and the Legal Profession BY M AYA K A N E A N D J E S SICA YAT E S
Introduction I’ve been a mom throughout my 40-plus-year legal career. I was a single parent to two middle schoolers during law school, gave birth to my third child while working as a solo practitioner, and helped raise four stepchildren in our new blended family of seven. Needless to say, work/life balance and gender parity in the legal profession are issues I care deeply about. When I was fresh out of law school, I was asked in multiple job interviews, “Why should we hire you, a single mother, when we can hire a man?” The firms would go on to express concern that I would miss work when my kids were sick. My response was that I would not miss work—as the sole bread winner, I would do what was necessary to get my work done. Still, none of these firms hired me. When my third child arrived early, I called the clerk’s office from the labor and delivery room to advise the court that I needed to reschedule several court dates. After she was born, I planned to keep her at my office for the first months of her life. This didn’t work out because of the number of lawyers who would drop by my office to see the baby. One of the older attorneys actually came into my office one day and said, “I just wanted to see what a woman lawyer looks like.” That was many years ago, yet women lawyers still face gender bias in 2020. To take a look at where we stand today, I’ve placed this month’s message in the capable hands of Maya Kane and Jessica Yates. They discuss why women disproportionately leave the legal profession, why this trend is harmful to the entire profession, and how we can help reverse course and achieve inclusivity and equality within our own legal organizations. —Kathleen Hearn Croshal
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C OL OR A D O L AW Y E R
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A PR I L 2 0 2 0
aya’s Story: “After earning a graduate degree and working as a scientist, I switched careers to law. I felt fortunate to find a position working for a small firm in Southwest Colorado on federal voting rights litigation on behalf of underrepresented communities. When I started, my son was 10 months old. At the time, I was the only female attorney at the firm with an infant, balancing work with caretaking responsibilities. During my six years at that firm I was routinely the target of comments from the senior partner who served as my direct supervisor. For example, when I worked up the courage to tell him I was pregnant with my second child, he responded, “Not again!” When I advocated for careful scrutiny of a contract involving child vaccinations, he dismissed my concerns saying, “Don’t let your maternal instincts get in the way of your legal judgment.” Almost weekly, the partner asked me if I had “put my kids on eBay yet?” While the comments were flippant, the implication was clear: my identity as a woman and a mother was viewed as deleterious to my practice. When I expressed my concerns to other partners in the firm, they were dismissive, even mocking. Ultimately, I resigned and started my own practice, which has been rewarding, but my decision to leave came at a high cost. In addition to significant financial consequences, I left behind work that I loved and relationships with clients that had taken years to build. But I had arrived at a moment where remaining was untenable. While I knew that the firm’s culture was deeply flawed, I did not have the experience, confidence, and seniority to change it.” Unfortunately, Maya’s account is not unique. Gender bias and discrimination pervades the legal profession. Despite many advances, substantial gender disparities persist. Women lag far behind men in compensation and other critical metrics of success, including positions of leadership and power in law firms. Women disproportionately face bullying, tokenism, and subconscious bias, especially around motherhood and caretaking. We face a demographic crisis in the legal profession: women are leaving the practice of law in droves. As women are sidelined, we lose