October 2012

In September, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) hosted a roundtable discussion for Bahraini women legal professionals.  Judge Rosa Jansen, chair of the Netherlands Training and Study Center for the Judiciary, and Dr. Esther DeVries, director of information technology for the U.S. Federal Judicial Center, met for an afternoon of conversation with ten women pursuing legal careers in the Kingdom. The participants were the top ten female graduates of a recent skills-building course for young lawyers Bahrain’s Judicial Training Institute offered with ABA ROLI support.

The women used the opportunity to discuss workplace challenges that female lawyers experience in male dominated fields, such as telecommunications. Judge Jansen spoke about various career paths available to women, including service as prosecutors and judges, while Dr. DeVries shared strategies for overcoming stereotypes in the workplace. The group will continue to meet to provide ongoing encouragement and peer support to one another. ABA ROLI’s work in the Gulf is supported by the U.S. Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative.

To learn more about the ABA Rule of Law Initiative’s work in Bahrain, contact us at rol@americanbar.org.