A former Kirkland & Ellis associate has sued the firm for gender discrimination, claiming she was routinely given an unmanageable workload compared to her male colleagues.
But the unfair treatment women are forced to deal with is even more pervasive than these examples suggest, as the lack of female partners demonstrates. This points to a double standard that inherently exists in large institutes without meaningful parity and representation of women in senior positions: Female lawyers tend to face completely different expectations at work than those faced by men with similar rank and title.
Women are also susceptible to the common perception that they will at some point take maternity or related leave. Even if they have not expressed a desire to start a family, this gender-based assumption can play a subconscious role in promotion decisions.
For instance, even when female attorneys possess the talent and work ethic that it takes to be a successful partner, they often cannot receive the same level of internal advocacy and mentorship that male attorneys enjoy from their superiors. After all, when seeking promotion, it is meaningful to know that someone in the room is willing to vouch for you.
The intersection of race and gender present an even stronger barrier, where only 3.8% of partners at U.S. law firms are women of colorWhile it is not always necessary to have an advocate in the room who looks like you when seeking promotion to partner, the lack of both racial and gender diversity among partners at U.S. law firms perpetuates the lack of advancement of diverse lawyers.