Law Practice Today

Nothing has brought the perspective of women in leadership roles more to the forefront in this country than the candidacy of Hillary Clinton; except perhaps the naming of Nancy Pelosi as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. No matter if you are fan or foe, or not even interested in politics – the candidate’s serious run for her party’s nomination for our highest elected office as well as Pelosi’s appointment has made the public and the press think more seriously about women’s leadership roles and opportunities.

In a profession that has long been dominated by men, opportunities for women’s involvement and advancement into leadership roles is a growing issue in law firms today. Why is it, years after women have represented 40% of law school graduates, and hovering at 50% for over five years, are so few women serving in management roles; and what can be done to make those opportunities more available? Given the customers that lawyers serve, whether they are individuals, small businesses, not for profits, or corporations, there is much to be said about what women leaders bring to the table in the service industry. And, with a new generation of attorneys entering the work force seeking a more flexible work place, there is some evidence that women bring some attributes to leadership roles that can help their organizations flourish. What might be some of the reasons that women are not represented more frequently in leadership roles, and what can be done about it?

 

Women Don’t Ask

One of the reasons that women are not represented in top roles in organizations is that they don’t ask to be placed into these positions. It seems strange, but it is true; so true that two academics wrote an outstanding book about the subject, logically titled, “Women Don’t Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide.” Written by two women professors at Carnegie Melon University, Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever, the book offers example after example of the ways in which women fail to find themselves in leadership roles – often because they assumed that their skills and accomplishments would be recognized and promoted. When Linda Babcock asked why so many male graduate students were teaching their own courses and most female students were assigned as assistants, her dean said: "More men ask. The women just don't ask.” Babcock and Laschever cite a number of statistics that further their arguments. For instance: Women report salary expectations between 3 and 32 percent lower than those of men for the same jobs; men expect to earn 13 percent more than women during their first year of full-time work and 32 percent more at the peak of their careers.

In general it seems that women do not like to negotiate, on behalf of themselves. They have no trouble whatsoever in negotiating on behalf of others. In surveys, according to Babcock and Laschever, 2.5 times more women felt apprehensive about negotiating for themselves than their male counterparts. According to one woman that the authors interviewed, Christine, an investment banker said: "I think it's up to the people that you work for . . . to identify [superior work] and keep current with what's in the industry." This is a common thread that women indicated when queried about negotiating. “If I work hard, my hard work will be recognized and I will get ahead.”

When asked about the importance of this issue, the authors responded. “In addition to the financial consequences, women often advance more slowly than equally qualified men because men are more likely than women to ask for prestigious assignments, volunteer for opportunities that will give them more visibility, and pursue raises and promotions that they think they deserve. Women, in contrast, often expect that hard work and high quality work will be recognized and rewarded without their asking. And this is frequently not true. Because they don't ask to be considered for the opportunities and advantages for which men ask, they often aren't recognized for the good work they do and don't progress as fast or as far in their careers as their talents should take them.”

You may ask – why don’t we just need to assume then that the reason women aren’t more present in firm leadership roles is because they haven’t asked – and they have no one to blame but themselves? The authors would understand this view, but find it to be simplistic and short sighted. Much research regarding the ways in which boys and girls are socialized indicates that girls are not socialized to ask for what they want, or to negotiate on their own behalf in general. Of course there are always exceptions to these generalities – but there is a great deal of evidence showing that boys and girls are socialized differently when it comes to negotiation. This same research indicates that if girls negotiate in the same ways as their male counterparts that there is likely to be a backlash. Girls are taught to focus on the needs of others while boys are typically taught to play hard and win for themselves. How often do we hear that a man is a ‘tough negotiator’ when a woman demonstrating the same behavior would be called ‘aggressive’ or worse? Women often negotiate more cooperatively than their male counterparts, resulting in a win-win mentality. The goal is not to teach women how to negotiate like men, but rather for them to negotiate on their own behalf at all, and to do so in a way that is most likely to achieve their desired outcomes.

 

What’s in it for Employers?

Turnover costs law firms millions of dollars every year. Losing an attorney to a competitor because the person in question believes her work will be more valued by someone else is both unfortunate and costly. Women who dislike negotiating with their current employer may be more likely to accept an offer from another firm when they see a significant increase in compensation offered by their current employer’s competitor. If they expect their work to be valued and compensated based upon merit alone, a change in employer may be the one way in which they would see a large pay increase.

By not recognizing the differences in the ways in which women negotiate and failing to engage women in opportunities for leadership, firms are losing out on tremendous potential for utilizing talent. Supervisors need to understand that the person raising their hand for an assignment may not always be the best person for the opportunity. When seeking assistance with plum assignments, department heads and partners need to make sure to spread the wealth around.

Sometimes perceived family responsibilities and obligations can also shortchange women’s options. Women may be passed over for travel or rigorous time consuming assignments because a supervisor, knowing of their family obligations, believes they won’t be available. Rather than making an assumption, it makes sense to ask these women anyway. Even if they may be correct – the attorney will know that their previous good work has been noticed. And the senior lawyer may be surprised that they will in fact be thrilled for the opportunity.

 

Help Yourself by Assisting Others

Earlier it was indicated that women are quite capable of negotiating effectively on behalf of others. Actually, they particularly excel at negotiating on behalf of their peers and their subordinates. In studies cited by Babcock and Laschever, women were able to negotiate for greater salary increases and opportunities for their female colleagues and subordinates than their male colleagues. This is a great opportunity for women attorneys to determine the positions in which they have an interest in their law firms and to engage their female colleagues in helping them achieve their goals. While women attorneys sometimes say, ‘When we get together to talk about our goals in the firm we realize that we aren’t the problem,” they may also find that making decisions about what they want to achieve as a group, can empower all of the women lawyers to think more strategically about the goals they want to achieve and the best way to reach them. If setting these goals firm-wide seems too daunting, try doing it within your department, or pairing up with one colleague. Goals spoken or written are more likely to be achieved than those that have not been discussed with others.

Women often fail to realize the breadth of things that can be negotiated, or asked for. Opportunities might include higher profile work assignments, committee memberships, leadership roles, department changes, or roles that could create greater firm wide visibility. Enlisting the support and assistance of other women as well as men can help women attorneys think more strategically about what opportunities would be most advantageous and how to achieve them.

Women need to keep track of their accomplishments and learn how to convey those accomplishments to others. In a large complex organization, it isn’t realistic to assume that management will notice everything that you have achieved. Updating supervisors about achievements at work and out of work is simply a part of looking out for your own career.

In the end, no organization wants to fail to utilize a significant segment of their membership for leadership opportunities. The significant demands of law firm leadership deserve the best people available for the job. And not everyone signals their availability in the same way. If law firms are to excel in a competitive legal market sometimes the best man for the job is a woman.