Women as Lawyers in 2013

According to the NALP’s 2012 Women & Minorities report, the number of female associates nationwide continues to fall for the third straight year, while the percentage of female partners increased by a small margin, from 19.54% to 19.91%. Considering the fact that women make up on average more than 40% of law school enrollment, this decline can be disconcerting for women considering applying to law school.

According to the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) in 2006, 15% of equity partners at law firms were women. While the 4.91% increase between ’06 and ‘12 may seem significant, it doesn’t approach the 30% goal for women as equity partners that NAWL challenged its members to meet by 2015.

The Ohio Supreme Court put together a Joint Task Force on Gender Fairness in the Legal Profession way back in 1991, yet 20 years later, in 2011, the Ohio State Bar Association reported that “the wage disparities between women and men is consistently disappointing.”

The Chicago Bar Association’s “Call to Action” program, which set forth specific goals to be met by 2007, according to “The Catalyst,” “demonstrated success on each of its five goals” and “established some best practices” that other bar associations may want to consider, especially in light of the American Bar Association’s findings in its “Glance at Women in the Law 2013” report.

The legal profession has made tremendous strides in addressing salary disproportionality and gender bias, for which it should be greatly proud; but it has a long way to go.