To fully examine advancement and retention issues among women attorneys of color, the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession embarked upon a research initiative to answer the following questions:

• What attracts women of color to the legal profession?
• Do their work experiences surpass or fall short of expectations?
• How do legal employers hinder or increase job satisfaction? and
• Why do women attorneys of color change practice areas and organizations, or leave the profession at an alarming rate?

Visible Invisibility: Women of Color in Law Firms presents the findings of the survey and focus group research and concludes with specific recommendations for law firms interested in retaining women of color.

The ABA Commission on Women was inspired to examine the professional trajectory of women of color based on research in the late 1990s by the National Association of Law Placement that suggested that virtually all women lawyers of color working in private practice had left their positions at major law firms within eight years. A more recent study by NALP found that from 1998 to 2003 nearly two-thirds (64.4 percent) of minority females left their firms within 55 months of being hired.

While there has been research conducted on issues specifically related to all women and specifically related to all people of color in the legal profession, there has been no comprehensive study which has specifically focused on women lawyers of color. The Commission on Women determined that there is a need for a comprehensive analysis on the unique concerns and experiences of Hispanic, African-American, Native American, and Asian American women in the legal profession and embarked upon the development of a research study that explores the unique experiences of these women who had worked in a law firm of 25 attorneys or more and begins the dialogue on how the legal profession can facilitate the full and robust participation of this group of talented lawyers.

Learn more about contributing to the next phase of the Women of Color Research Initiative. The next two phases of the project will be designed to provide a comprehensive picture of the issues and responses of women attorneys of color and their employers in the corporate and government sectors and ultimately to compare those responses against the experiences of women of color at law firms. The research will be used to develop educational material that will help improve the retention and advancement of women of color in the legal profession.

The Women of Color Research Initiative, a public service project of the American Bar Association, will receive funding through the ABA Fund for Justice and Education (FJE). The FJE was created to accept gifts and grants to support the ABA’s public service work. The FJE qualifies as an exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and all contributions to the FJE are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.

Thank you to our generous Commission Signature Supporters.

Learn about new 2008 joint Signature Support packages of multiple Commission projects