Goal III Report Card

American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession

Goal III (Formerly Goal IX) Report Card

In 1986, the American Bar Association adopted Goal IX as one of its association goals. That goal supported "the full and equal participation in the legal profession by minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and persons of differing sexual orientations and gender identities." In 2008, the ABA revised its goals, and Goal IX became Goal III, to eliminate bias and enhance diversity. Its objectives are to promote full and equal participation in the association, our profession, and the justice system by all persons and to eliminate bias in the legal profession and justice system.

In 1991, the Commission on Women created the Goal IX Report Card to measure women's progress throughout the ABA. Based on a self-reporting questionnaire completed by ABA entities, this report (now the Goal III Report Card) offers a statistical overview of women's participation in leadership positions throughout the various entities of the ABA.

View Goal III
(Formerly Goal IX)
Report Cards

2009

2009
(accessible version - 1 MB)

Highlights of the 2009 report:

The House of Delegates chart was reorganized to indicate those delegates elected by non-ABA entities and those elected by ABA entities. See pages 9-10.
Initiatives to Advance Women into Leadership - For the second year, the Commission asked Sections, Divisions, and Forums for the one best practice they use and would recommend to other entities to advance women into their leadership ranks. The Commission also asked what new initiatives the entities had implemented or were considering. See pages 31, 33-34.
Trend Analysis - The text and charts on pages 17-19 and 28 illustrate trends in the numbers of women who have been elected chairs and officers of Sections, Divisions, and Forums.
Pipeline - Councils, nominating committees, and committee chairs/vice chairs are important steps along the pathway to entity leadership. Serving as authors of books/chapters and participation as members of programming faculty are excellent opportunities for women members to raise their profile within an entity. The charts on pages 20-27 and 29 illustrate the need to develop these opportunities for future leaders.

Historical Data

To further assist you in evaluating your entity's progress and in comparing statistics with other entities, we have compiled the data presented in all of our Goal III/Goal IX Report Cards, starting with 1990-91and continuing through the present. View these Excel spreadsheets. Data from the 2009 report will be added shortly.

Statements of Support for the Goal III/Goal IX Report Card

The following entities have endorsed the value of the Goal III/Goal IX Report Card as an indispensable tool in meeting the goal of diversity in the ABA.