Gender Inequality In Law School Case Study

For as long as I can remember, it has been my dream to become an attorney. That being said, coming from a small town in Wisconsin, people around me view this as an ambitious and unlikely goal. Upon learning of my dreams, many people from my hometown are surprised that I—a female—would strive for such a masculine career path. However, rather than allowing this discouragement to stop me, I use it as motivation to reach for my goals and prove that a woman can succeed in a traditionally male field.

This workplace gender inequality is similarly evident in both the political and legal arenas, with 2012 statistics finding that ‘10 percent of all Federal Parliamentarians across Australia were women (66 out of 226)’. Furthermore, it has been identified that of the ‘current 932 individuals who make up the private Bar of the Queensland Bar Association, only 19.7 percent are women’, and of the whole of Queensland’s’ magistrates, only 36 out of 93, are women. As these statistics so clearly indicate, women are grossly underrepresented in the political and legal arenas, and the workplace in general. There are varying arguments that can reason this inequality, however, the most persuasive and logical places the blame on the orthodox gender roles that society has adopted and endorsed. As a result of these gender roles, men are automatically assumed to dominate more masculine occupations such as construction, engineering and law, while women often subjected to domestic occupations, such as, childcare, retail, nursing and education. Women are subsequently judged on their perceived gender role and not on their merits or competence, and are therefore unable to ‘equally contribute to and benefit from economic, social, cultural and political life’. The underrepresentation of women in the workplace is astounding and the reasons for why this inequality has riddled the Australian workforce can be answered by

Over the past few decades, great strides have been made by women in the workplace. This increased number in women in the workplace does not mean equality however. Even with equal qualifications and achievements, women are still not given all the opportunities that men have. The chapter in the textbook, “Gender at Work”, shows us more of these inequalities in the workplace. Such inequalities cause gender segregation of jobs and can be linked with the pay inequality in the labor force. Even in jobs that are predominantly filled by women, men earn more than women. Women are often stereotyped as being family focused and not as able to travel, therefore they tend to get passed up for promotions (Garson p.353). This invisible barrier that keeps women from moving up the executive ladder is referred to as the “glass ceiling” (Baxter and Wright p. 346). Women also tend to do more domestic work, or unpaid labor and caregiving. This extra unpaid work is referred to as “the third shift” and is largely rested on the shoulders of women (Gersel p. 352). Consequently, this seems to be one of the biggest things holding women back from taking on jobs that are normally considered male

In 2010, Ellen Pao (a woman, who according to Slate magazine is educated in business, law and engineering) filed a discrimination suit against her employer, Kleiner Perkins. In 2015, after a trial that lasted nearly one month, the jury found in favor of Kleiner Perkins. Although this wasn’t the outcome that people had hoped for, many believed that the case represented an important moment for professional women: Despite Pao’s loss, the public’s awareness of the discrimination women face in male dominated environments had increased as a result of her public pursuit.

According to Porter, “A ‘discourse community’ is a group of individuals bound by a common interest who communicate through approved channels and whose discourse is regulated. A discourse community shares assumptions about what objects are appropriate for examination and discussion, what constitutes ‘evidence’ and ‘validity’ and what formal conventions are followed (38-39).” These five texts collectively constitute a community of discourse through their application of common language norms, characteristics, patterns and rhetorical strategies. All of the authors are writing about corresponding ideas and discussing their identical goals; the prevalence of gender inequality in the legal profession and the unjust consequences derived from it. Similarly, all five sources intentions are to oppose the standard viewpoint that gender inequality has diminished and provide evidence to support this claim. Their ideas of remedying gender inequality in the legal profession overlap as well as contradict one another.

Inequality between different groups of people within the United States is concerning for many sociologists and society in general. One of the main inequalities throughout the United States is gender inequality. Gender inequity is found in all past and present societies. It takes the form of patriarchy. From the patriarchal point of view, gender inequality can be traced back to biological differences in early societies (“Steven Goldberg on Patriarchy” 2006). This inequality is present in society through many different forms, including job segregation, the gender pay gap, and a great difference in women’s political representation (Joan Acker, 1989).

In a still predominantly men-orientated world, male lawyers seem to resent the time that women have off for maternity leave, many complaining of what they perceive as holding the fort after a woman’s decision to become pregnant. Many women complain that on their return to the legal profession, they are expected to work at twice the pace to make up for the time off, which puts inordinate pressure on them when they are trying to develop a sensible working pattern and balance.”

For many years, women had been subject of increased gender inequality, including restricted access to employment opportunities. However, during the antebellum era, several important changes were introduced to address the rights and roles of women in the society. For about two centuries now, the number of women entering the accounting profession has almost doubled. In the year 1977, females made up 28% of all graduating accounting majors. According to a recent American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) survey, there were more female graduates than male, approximately 52% vs 48%. More so, the gender breakdown of new accounting graduates hired by public accounting firms was 54% male and 46% female (Fisher, 2015). The demand for accountants appears to be growing a lot faster than the supply (Dubois, 2013). In today’s business climate, job opportunities are better now, more than ever for accountants. These opportunities are particularly good for women,

In this paper, I will discuss a number of topics regarding woman and the Supreme Court from historical precedents to objective research to the importance of female judges and Justices and finally to the possibilities of the future. Each of these steps is vital to fully understanding how we got to our country’s current place in female jurisprudence and creating future opportunities for women both on the Supreme Court and in all other levels of the judicial system across the United States.

In many ways today's society, even though women have come a long way, we still live in a patriarchal world. There are many examples of this in everyday life, whether it be that there aren't very many women CEO's or the mere fact that we've yet to have a woman president. No matter where you live, there is the presence of a male dominated world. It especially extends into the working fields. There are professions that are categorically ‘women's' jobs like nursing, school teacher, or secretarial jobs. The rest of the professional world is mainly male dominated, i.e. engineering, CEO's of major companies, and Law Firms. Which brings us to the movie I picked to watch, Legally Blonde?

Thirdly, a barrier faced by women is the area of law practised in; 'Female barristers are more likely to conduct legal aid work than men, and are over represented in certain types of criminal defence work particularly those relating to sexual offences and children'1. This is evident in the report published in 2013 by the bar standard board which showed that '61% of female barristers were concentrated in family'2 law as opposed to '39% of males'3, the men, dominated other areas including, criminal commercial and civil. The barrier this creates is the taking of silk and appointment to queen's counsel; after 20 years as a Barrister when one applies for silk they would be denied based on the lack of development/ involvement in notable complex cases, when concentrated in one area of law the likelihood of having ones work being noticed is slim and some women do not apply based on this, as is evident in the Bar standard board report which showed that '75% of female barristers eligible to apply did not apply and out of 25% of application 10%'4 were unsuccessful compared to '47% of eligible males not applying and 33% out of 53%'5 being accepted. The higher court Judge Bobby Cheema Grubb was the first 'Asian female judge to be assigned to the Queen's bench

Gender inequality is a social problem that is widespread in society. It is referred to as the unfair treatment of individuals based on one 's gender. Historically, laws have opposed women to go to school, access certain jobs, and purchase property. Gender inequality has been experience through culture – honor-killing, sex-selective abortion, and society – occupation, gender roles, and education. The social expectations of men and women differ between cultures that are constructed socially and culturally. These expectations are displayed in roles, and behavior believed both by men and women and their interdependent relationships. Gender inequality can be further understood through the structure of sexism. Discrimination takes place in gender inequality for the reason that men and women are treated on the basis of gender alone (Amjad, R., Ashfaq, M., Kousar, R., Saghir, A., 2010).

Feminist jurisprudence is a complicated legal theory that covers an extensive range of issues affecting women. Feminist jurisprudence rose to prominence in the 1960’s while critical theory flourished in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Both movements provide a comprehensive and thorough analysis of the relationship that exists between law, women, and people of minority. Both critical race theory and feminist jurisprudence highlight how the law is the embodiment of the interests of the most powerful persons in any society (Culver 211). According to feminists, the law and legal concepts reflect an exclusively male or patriarchal view of the world. Two central themes are nearly agreed upon by all feminists. The belief that all male dominated institutions should be rejected and for effective and rapid reform to be introduced to amend existing laws and in the ways

One of the largest issues in developing a career in the legal profession is diversity as there is a perceived image of the legal sector being a traditionally “white, male, middle class” profession. Harold Patrick and Vincent Kuman argue, “the concept of diversity includes acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing our individual differences” . This essay will examine the social class, educational and gender barriers underrepresented groups face in developing a career in the legal profession. The effectiveness of measures taken to promote diversity in England and Wales will then be evaluated. This essay will go on to ultimately conclude that the legal profession in England and Wales has become increasingly diverse over the years, although a significant lack of diversity does still exist within the upper tier of the profession.

In the 21st century, many people believe that we have overcome the obstacle of gender inequality and evolved into a society of fairness and righteousness. As many know, females can be just as proficient and qualified as males at any task. Though some efforts to off-set this gender imbalance is in place, it is still commonly acknowledged that many careers are stated to be a male job such as lawyers, and female jobs such as secretaries. Gender inequality is a visible fact in our society and in this essay, I hypothesize that gender inequality still exists as a result of factors such as post-secondary education differences of the two genders, role of females in families, female objectification, career choice differences of the two genders, and