February 2002

The Glass-Ceiling Survey

by Lisa M. Stone, Guest Columnist

For more than 20 years, women and men have been entering law school in roughly equal numbers, and more women have risen to prominence in the legal profession, serving as judges, representing clients in high-profile cases, and being tapped as bar leaders. Yet despite these gains, many women attorneys believe a "glass ceiling" exists that prevents them from reaching the highest levels of status and compensation in the law. In 2001, a committee of female attorneys and legal professionals conducted a survey to determine whether this subjective view is warranted.

The Glass-Ceiling Survey, which was underwritten largely by the Washington Supreme Court Commission on Gender and Justice, was administered in 2001 by Northwest Research Group. Seven general areas of focus were included in the study: hiring, compensation, work life and firm culture, firm governance, discrimination and harassment policies and practices, professional growth, and promotion and retention. Respondents were asked to complete the study with reference to women and people of color in their firm and in the profession. The study was sent to all Washington law firms with five or more attorneys. Completion of the survey was voluntary; it was hoped that firms would be interested in participating in this study to learn about the status and progress of women and people of color in the legal profession in this state.

The results of the survey bear out the subjective view of its originators. While there has been progress in the status of women attorneys, they have not reached the level of compensation, participation in firm governance, and professional attainment of men. People of color similarly lag behind caucasians in the indicia of power and control within the legal profession.

The demographic makeup of the legal profession resembles a pyramid; the bottom comprises women and men in roughly equal numbers as they leave law school. Once in a firm, women begin to play a smaller role, both numerically and functionally, until the top of the pyramid is overwhelmingly male. Between joining a firm as an entry-level associate and partnership, the number of women attorneys in law firms decreases by more than 50 percent. Women are likely to leave firms for public-sector service or solo practice, which may indicate the relative lack of a sense of comfort and acceptance they experience in private firms.

The picture for attorneys of color is equally bleak. Lawyers who identified themselves as persons of color constitute a small percentage of attorneys in private firms, with even fewer reaching the top of the pyramid. While the population of people of color in Washington as a whole is approximately 19 percent, minorities make up fewer than 10 percent of all attorneys in private practice in firms of five or more attorneys, and only three percent of equity partners.

An empirical study reveals a statistical picture of the profession, but it can also point to possible explanations for the data, or at least to potential avenues for further exploration. The trends identifiable in the results of the Glass-Ceiling Survey represent not only a reflection, but also some opportunities for the profession to expand and become more inclusive.

A theme emerging from the data is that women in private law firms are underrepresented in the decision-making processes of firms. In hiring authority, partnership determinations, compensation, long-term planning, firm governance and business management, women make up a very small percentage of the decision-makers, and the inclusion of people of color is even rarer in these processes. Women are fully and sometimes overrepresented in firm committees dealing with such matters as diversity, artwork, public relations, philanthropy and human resources. It appears that traditional notions of women's roles persist.

Among the patterns the data reveals is a statistically significant difference between the representation of women and people of color at all levels in firms in eastern Washington and in western Washington. Fewer eastern firms have women or minority partners, formal antidiscrimination policies and training, or hiring committees that include women and lawyers of color. However, these tend to be attributes of larger firms, and the number of larger law firms is much smaller in eastern Washington.

Some signs of progress arise from the data: for example, private law firms appear to take seriously issues of sexual harassment, and race and sex discrimination. Most firms have policies prohibiting such behavior, though relatively few provide regular training on how to recognize, respond to, or avert it. Firms also increasingly take into account attorneys' attitudes toward women and people of color, with most assessing gender and ethnic bias at some point in a lawyer's tenure with the firm. Additionally, a significant number of firms have parental leave policies and/or accommodate alternative schedules. The greatest number of those using such policies and schedules are women.

In many ways, it appears that private law firms have responded to the influx of women over the last 20 years in a somewhat haphazard way. Women have been absorbed into the firms, but firms have not made deliberate, systematic efforts to integrate women into their power structures. Thus, women participate in interviewing and recruiting new hires, but not in the final hiring decisions. They provide input about compensation, but do not make ultimate financial determinations. Moreover, most firms do not have formal systems for distributing work among partners or associates.

This finding may represent a genuine opportunity for firms interested in reaching parity among women and men, and white and nonwhite lawyers. One way to systematically increase the participation of women and people of color in private firms would be to formalize work distribution to ensure that all attorneys have the chance to undertake high-level, lucrative work, rather than leaving it to chance.

Firms could also improve the climate for women and people of color by adopting and consistently communicating the criteria for promotion to partner or shareholder. The largest firms in the state are most likely to do so. Smaller firms appear to operate in a more ad hoc fashion, which is likely to favor those who are most like the current partners — white men.

The Glass-Ceiling Survey originated from a desire to explore in a reliable way the subjective sense of many women who practice law in Washington. The results both affirm that subjective sense and provide reason for hope. Women's increased presence in private firms, if appropriately responded to, can spur further improvement in their professional status, financial security, and sense of personal satisfaction and achievement. The profession owes no less to all its members.

Lisa M. Stone, a member of the Glass Ceiling Task Force/Gender Equality Committee, is the executive director of the Northwest Women's Law Center, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization dedicated to advancing legal rights for women. She has worked for the federal government and been in private practice.