Blog #24

I had the pleasure of informally interviewing Rosetta Thompson, a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Adjudications Officer in the Phoenix Field Office. Rosetta attended a small law school in Delaware, then went into private practice and is currently working for the Federal Government. I inquired about gender expectations and stereotypes while in law school and throughout her career. Rosetta informed me that she attended an evening law program and many of her classroom peers were people like herself, working and professional adults and as in her case, parents. As a result, she was in a much friendly environment compared to her daytime peers or those in a traditional program. She also noted that approximately 35% of her class was female. In law school and through career development seminars she was advised to be “conservative” with makeup, hair styles, jewelry and attire. She was encouraged to wear dark colors, blacks and navy to provide a sense of conservatism and seriousness. She was further discouraged to be “flashy” or to dress fitted. Rosetta talked about working together with two lawyers from California at one firm and she said she was unable to take them seriously because they wore clothing that was very provocative and that was quite the opposite that attorneys are expected to be. She said she figured California must be more liberal.
Rosetta also said that who she is now is not who she was going into law school. As a beginning law student, she was very shy and quite however that changed with what she learned in reference to being confident and assertive. She caught my attention when she further said to me that many times women are interpreted as being “B*&^%$” when they are assertive whereas in the case of men, being aggressive and assertive is a natural characteristic and they are praised for doing a good job, particularly in court. Similarly, Holly English cites that women that are passive are dismissed and if they are aggressive, they are disliked. Nevertheless, Rosetta has worked with many excellent and admirable female lawyers that have actually served as mentors to male attorneys. Furthermore, Rosetta acknowledged that women are forced to make professional sacrifices as they are expected to be caregivers and homemakers in addition to their career. She specifically made reference to an opportunity she was forced to pass after she recently graduated from law school. She was offered a lucrative position in a prestigious law firm in downtown Philadelphia but the position required that she be available to work up to 70 hours a week and as a mother and wife, she was unwilling to put her family second and this has been true for her entire career. Undoubtedly, she has made the best of her professional career without jeopardizing her family. Kudos to Rosetta Thompson!