Blog #29

I have had the opportunity to interview a couple of minority women lawyers and inquired as to their reasons for working for the government (public sector) rather than in private practice where there is ample opportunity for more lucrative positions and higher salary. I have noticed the same pattern across the board in real life and as described by Holly English. Working mothers in particular experience a much more difficult time making a commitment to a position in private practice because of familial obligations. Often times the case load in private practice requires that one be willing to work additional hours, up to 70-80 hours a week and that becomes a challenge for a mother and wife because women in our society are expected to be caregivers and homemakers regardless of their profession. Women are still presumed to be nurturing, loving and mothering as their primary responsibilities. Therefore, when a woman chooses a career, she is not expected to sacrifice her other obligations and as a result, there are less women in positions that require higher responsibility and longer hours thus leaving numerous opportunities for men to continue to dominate the field. Also, because private law firms offer less flexibility than your typical 8-5 government job, working mothers opt to sacrifice more money and prestige over a predictable schedule in the public sector. Based on the stories of the NPR news, a minority woman faces even greater difficulty because not only is she a minority once for being a woman but she is a minority twice for being a woman of color and having what we could call “2 strikes” against her in white male dominated field, her status as a competent and credible attorney is jeopardized twice. And if the woman is attractive then that is an additional strike and even more credibility is taken away and it becomes increasingly difficult for others in the field, particularly men, to take her seriously and this is unfortunate because essentially what is happening is that women are being penalized for being themselves.