Biglaw, Women's Issues

4 Ways Law Firms Can 'Lean In'

At the current pace of progress, we are more than one hundred years away from gender equality in the C-suite.

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Sheryl Sandberg LF“Wisdom is better than silver and gold / I was hopeless, now I’m more hope road.” — Lauryn Hill

On Wednesday, Sheryl Sandberg’s LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Company co-published the Women in the Workplace 2015 study, as part of a long-term partnership between the organizations to encourage female leadership and foster gender equality in the workplace. One hundred eighteen companies and nearly 30,000 employees participated in this 2015 study. When introducing this report, Sandberg stated that at the current pace of progress, we are more than one hundred years away from gender equality in the C-suite. According to the report, a mere 17% in the C-suite are expected to be women this year. As for our profession, only 16.8% of law firm equity partners are women. These percentages are eerily similar. So what can the legal profession learn from this report?

The Problems

As summarized by USA Today’s Jessica Guynn, here are the main reasons why women are underrepresented at every level inside corporate America:

  • The leadership ambition gap persists: Women at every level are less eager than men to become a top executive because “the path to leadership is disproportionately stressful for women.”
  • Women experience an uneven playing field: Women are nearly four times more likely than men to think they have fewer opportunities to climb the corporate ranks and they are twice as likely to think that being a woman will make it tougher on them.
  • Gender diversity is not widely believed to be a priority: 74% of companies report that their chief executives are highly committed to gender diversity, but less than half of employees see it that way.

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  • There are a lot of workplace programs but participation is low: Employee programs are abundant, but participation is low: Employees are reluctant to participate because they think they will be penalized. More than 90% of women and men believe taking extended family leave will undermine them at work.
  • There is still inequality at home: 41% of women report doing more child care and 30% report doing more chores in households where both partners work full-time.
  • Women and men have very different networks: While men have mostly male networks, women have networks that are either mostly made up of other women or are made up of women and men, giving them more limited access to senior leadership positions which are held mostly by men.

Last week, I wrote about how men and women may have different preferences when it comes to achieving high-level positions in the workplace. Do you believe that gender disparity in corporate America, including our profession, can be explained by these different preferences?

The Solutions

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The Women in the Workplace 2015 report provides a road map to gender equality. Here are four key steps in the road map that law firms can also follow to promote gender equality in the legal profession:

  • Track key metrics so you can understand the problem: According to the report, partners should commit to gender diversity and get the message across their firms. This requires leadership, authenticity and accountability. Key metrics include: promotion rates for women and men, allocation of stretch and high-visibility assignments, compensation, and attrition. For example, according to NALP’s 2005 report on attrition, we know that “42% of male associates of color leave their law firms within 28 months. Within 55 months, 78% have left…. while minority female attorneys have the highest attrition rate, at 41% within 28 months and 81% within 55 months.” In other words, only one in five minority associates last five years at a law firm. By tracking metrics like these, law firms can begin to understand the problem.
  • Demonstrate that gender diversity is a top priority: According to the report, firms should invest time and money in gender diversity (e.g., invest in initiatives that support women and inclusion more broadly to reviewing employee compensation and closing pay gaps). Firms should set gender targets — and hold leaders accountable for reaching them. Note that there is a big difference between goals and quotas. Goals are aspirational. In reality, these diversity goals may never be achieved. But failure to solve the diversity crisis in the legal profession should not be for lack of effort. Law firms that aspire to be more diverse can and should share their clear numerical targets for diversity.
  • Identify and interrupt gender bias: According to the report, transparency and training are vital. If employees see that there are real, measurable gender inequities in their organization, they will be more likely to participate in solutions. Firms should implement training to help employees learn how to identify and counteract gender bias. . . . It is important that firms find ways to minimize gender bias in hiring and performance reviews. Earlier this year, Professor Melissa Hart, past president of the American Bar Association Laurel Bellows, and I were guests on The Legal Talk Network’s Lawyer 2 Lawyer Podcast, where we discussed the importance of transparency and objective metrics in fighting discriminatory tendencies of a firm’s culture.
  • Create a level playing field: According to the report, firms should tap women and men equally to take on high-profile assignments and new opportunities as well as track the distribution of mission-critical work to make sure it is evenly divided among women and men. Firms can also help by establishing formal mentorship and sponsorship programs as well as making it a badge of honor to support women in the organization. From networking events to group lunches, they can create opportunities for informal interaction between women and men — these personal connections can lead to the professional relationships that propel careers. Finally, firm leaders can make sure they sponsor a diverse group of employees.

At the current pace of progress, we are more than one hundred years away from gender equality in the C-suite. Can the same be said of gender equality in the partnership ranks of the legal profession? In the words of Sandberg, “[c]hange is never easy. But we can achieve great gains faster than anyone believes. We reached the moon in eight years of concerted effort — not 80. Let’s bring that same urgency to this mission. We will achieve not just a stronger and more successful workplace, but also increased economic growth and benefits for all our workers and families.”

Renwei Chung is a 2L at Southern Methodist University School of Law. He has an undergraduate degree from Michigan State University and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He is the author of The Golden Rule: How Income Inequality Will Ruin America (affiliate link). He has been randomly blogging about anything and everything at Live Your Truth since 2008. He was born in California, raised in Michigan, and lives in Texas. He has a yellow lab named Izza and enjoys old-school hip hop, the NBA and stand up paddleboarding (SUP). He is really interested in startups, entrepreneurship, and innovative technologies. You can contact Renwei by email at projectrenwei@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter (@renweichung), or connect with him on LinkedIn.

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