Women lawyers undoubtedly face significant challenges in obtaining equity in pay, leadership positions, and overall career success. However, when you pair the legal profession’s persistent gender bias with its long-standing racial bias, you see a much more nuanced and daunting picture. The data show that women of color face even more substantial barriers than white women. According to a recent ABA report, the percentage of equity partners in large law firms who are women of color has remained constant over the past 20 years at 2 percent. In contrast, similarly situated white women experienced a gradual increase since 2006. There are similar differences between white women and women of color when it comes to pay equity. Only 60 percent of white women, compared with 70 percent of women of color, say they are underpaid relative to their male colleagues with similar experience. These distinctions illustrate a critical need to overcome systemic barriers and unconscious biases to create a more equitable and inclusive profession.
Women attorneys of color face adversity. They find themselves on a hamster wheel of continuously proving themselves to clients, peers, superiors, and subordinates. It never ends because even after they enjoy a success, they must prove themselves once again. And in the instances when they do receive support, others still doubt their abilities. Women lawyers of color are often not seen as genuine contenders for meaningful or more challenging work assignments, business development, or leadership opportunities.
Relationship building also presents challenges. Relationships are essential to every lawyer’s career. Strong connections help generate more challenging assignments, mentorship, sponsorship, and business opportunities. The lack of women attorneys of color in leadership positions lessens the likelihood of associates of color benefiting from opportunities that stem from connections with decision makers because people often feel connected with others who remind them of their sons, daughters, and friends.
Compared with other demographics, women of color leave law firms at higher rates. Charting a path to success without acquiring the necessary tools and resources, that others generally acquire through mentorship and sponsorship, may seem like an unattainable goal. The daily grind of dealing with microaggressions, such as excessive and disproportionate questioning of legal analysis by superiors, peers, and clients, and the unspoken requirement of demonstrating extraordinary achievements to obtain the same advancement opportunities as their majority peers, becomes exhausting. Some talented women attorneys of color who see no end in sight to these conditions simply leave.
There are women, however, who persevere and continue to grow and succeed professionally despite these obstacles. Women attorneys of color remain in the profession for myriad reasons, including their love of the law and the intellectual challenges it presents. Perhaps the most noble reason may be the sense of responsibility to serve as mentors and role models for young women attorneys of color. Representation matters. Studies show that having a mentor with whom you identify with is more likely to produce favorable outcomes in a professional setting. Women attorneys of color who successfully navigate through the ranks of law firms demonstrate the career possibilities of achievement available to younger women attorneys of color.
Women attorneys of color no longer settle for the “crab-in-a-barrel” mentality where one woman’s success comes at the expense of other struggling women. Now they are creating professional networking organizations to provide each other with opportunities to facilitate career development and advancement, networking, business development, career support, and leadership and promotional opportunities. Women attorneys of color realize that their careers can benefit from providing and receiving woman-to-woman referrals, opening woman-owned and woman-operated firms, networking with other women, and professionally affiliating with other women. These organizations allow women lawyers of color to leverage their memberships to advance their careers and develop a pipeline of business and referrals. They can use the sponsorships developed in these organizations as business development and marketing tools.
Networking groups for women attorneys of color can become integral to providing them with the tools they need to succeed in their careers. They provide younger attorneys of color with the opportunity to establish connections with decision makers who can offer them mentorship, sponsorship, and work and business opportunities. In addition, these groups provide a safe space for women attorneys of color to share their experiences and seek support and resources to support their careers. Furthermore, they can operate as a catalyst to change the perception of what a capable, successful attorney looks like by nominating and supporting each other for leadership positions, awards, articles, speaking engagements, and service accolades.
Professional networking groups for women lawyers of color are empowering. As these organizations continue to grow, so will their collective knowledge, experience, reputation, legal skills, and events. This growth will translate into future business growth and leveling the inequalities within the legal profession.
