Blog Post #39

First, organizations must stop pretending that there is no problem to deal with; this itself creates a problem. Public statements need to be more closely related to what people actually think. Next, we need to establish common ground between men and women to construct some principles. We need a vision that will prompt both genders to work hard to change the future, not just women. They need to redefine what it means to best deliver legal services, what makes a good lawyer, the best way to manage a workplace, the best way to manage the workplace, and the best way to deal with personal and professional conflicts. The awkwardness of men and women working together needs to be relieved. They need to stop the avoidance and find ways to ease tensions. We should attempt to draw the best from feminine leadership and masculine leadership. Finally, there should be amore balanced notion of parenthood, assuming both parents will want time with the child, not just the mother. We should learn to support and embrace people who step outside stereotypical norms, instead of rejecting them.

Repost of Blog #38

In 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman to be sworn into the US Supreme Court. She was appointed by Ronald Reagan. She went to Stanford University for a Bachelor’s of Science in Economics. She also attended the Stanford School of Law. Later she married and had three children. Her husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and she was actively involved in creating awareness. When she started to pursue her career, many people were still against employing women in the field of law. She was offered a job as a secretary but she turned it down. She worked in public service as the Deputy County Attorney of San Mateo County, California from 1952—1953 and as a civilian attorney for Quartermaster Market Center in Frankfurt am Main, Germany from 1954-1960. Later she served as the Assistant Attorney General of Arizona. In ’75 she became the judge of Maricopa County Superior Court. In ’79 she was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals. Then, in 1981 she joined the US Supreme Court. In 2004 she was the second most powerful woman in America. On August 12, 2009, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor of the United States, by President Barack Obama.

Jeanine Pirro was the first of many things for the state of New York. She was the first female District Attorney of Westchester County, the first Westchester court judge, the first woman to try a murder case there, and the first woman to be named “outstanding prosecutor” in the state of New York. She graduated from Notre Dame High School in three years rather than the usual four. She went to the University of Buffalo for her undergraduate and Albany Law School for her juris doctorate. Her marriage was filled with violence and infidelity. That is why in 1997 she chaired the New York State Commission on Domestic Violence Fatalities, whose report and recommendations resulted in legislation passing that enhanced protections of, and safeguards for, the victims of domestic abuse.

Blog POst #38

In 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman to be sworn into the US Supreme Court. She was appointed by Ronald Reagan. She went to Stanford University for a Bachelor’s of Science in Economics. She also attended the Stanford School of Law. Later she married and had three children. Her husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and she was actively involved in creating awareness. When she started to pursue her career, many people were still against employing women in the field of law. She was offered a job as a secretary but she turned it down. She worked in public service as the Deputy County Attorney of San Mateo County, California from 1952—1953 and as a civilian attorney for Quartermaster Market Center in Frankfurt am Main, Germany from 1954-1960. Later she served as the Assistant Attorney General of Arizona. In ’75 she became the judge of Maricopa County Superior Court. In ’79 she was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals. Then, in 1981 she joined the US Supreme Court. In 2004 she was the second most powerful woman in America. On August 12, 2009, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor of the United States, by President Barack Obama.

Jeanine Pirro was the first of many things for the state of New York. She was the first female District Attorney of Westchester County, the first Westchester court judge, the first woman to try a murder case there, and the first woman to be named “outstanding prosecutor” in the state of New York. She graduated from Notre Dame High School in three years rather than the usual four. She went to the University of Buffalo for her undergraduate and Albany Law School for her juris doctorate. Her marriage was filled with violence and infidelity. That is why in 1997 she chaired the New York State Commission on Domestic Violence Fatalities, whose report and recommendations resulted in legislation

Blog Post #37

American bar Association points out that time will not fix the under-representation of women in the legal field and the discrimination they experience. Holly English agrees that we cannot act as though it is going away on its own; we have to keep working on clearing the gender gap. Attitudes and stereotypes that are entrenched in society and the workplace are reinforcing barriers to women. English touches on a few of these. A good example is the gender expectation that women are generally nurturing. When women act outside this, and act aggressively, people are flabbergasted, and sometimes reject her. If she does carry herself in a nurturing, passive manner than she is not tough enough for the field of law. It is all too often that women are viewed as too emotional, insufficiently aggressive, and not very serious about their jobs. Like English discussed a lot, there needs to be more room for balance between professional and personal priorities, for both men and women. The repercussions of having children are very detrimental to the career of an attorney. Working part-time makes them not as serious about their job. Working full-time makes them a suspect parent. If they cannot successfully manage the role of an employee and as a caregiver then they are considered a failure. All of these things that the American Bar Association and Holly English’s book, Gender on Trial, have recognized as problems in the corporate world add to the disparity in advancement for women. The ABA suggests a few solutions. They suggest that there be an incentive to promote women and lawyers of color, that we start having successful senior partners mentor new associates, we allow more networking, we offer a supportive atmosphere to go along with the offering of a flexible schedule, we make sure everyone gets a fair share of good assignments, and we offer a temporary suspension of the “clock” for those who want to become partner but want kids as well.In Gender on Trial, Holly English gives similar solutions. She recommends a structure mentoring system, REAL flexible work arrangements with constructed policies, rotating of work assignments, risk taking, and performance reviews so advancement is based on merit rather than politics.

Blog Post #36

In the story “Talk of the Nation,” they discussed the idea that many women were either leaving jobs in the top rungs of corporation or opting out of them all together because of the excess demand. The were expected to work 60+ hour per week, have no personal life, be on call 24/7, and to put the company ahead of their personal life. Many women are deciding that it is jus not worth, and it is not just mothers who are making this decision. Women desire to be in control of the lives, and the balance between home and work. With the jobs that have such a high demand they simply cannot do that. Women are less willing to sacrifice their personal life for professional success than their male counterparts. I feel like women have also been sort of forced to quit jobs that have less demand; Jobs that only require 40 hours per week. Companies are treating many women as though they are a waste because they are just going to leave when they start a family. Really they should not be treating the women who will decide to do this in that way but they definitely should not cast this shadow over all women in the workforce. I think it is possible to lure women back into the workforce if they can be shown that the will not just be forced out if they get pregnant and decided to start a family. Like Holly English and Joan Williams discussed, these corporations need to become more family-friendly. They need to stop reducing the pay, benefits, and workload of women who decide to work part-time. They need to make it more okay for people to take advantage of flex-time. They also need to offer more room for men to have domestic responsibilities so the burden doesn’t fall disproportionately on women.

Blog Post #35

The EEOC is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Their main job is to make sure that all of the anti-discrimination laws of the workforce are understood and properly enforced. Recently, they have been trying to promote corporations going above and beyond the bare minimum legal requirements expected of them. Unfortunately, these basic minimum requirements do not create a family friendly workplace. The current laws for family caregiver’s do protect their rights, but they do not help the caregiver out. The employer of a caregiver needs to be sympathetic to the fact that these people come to work and work, and then they go home and work. The most common caregiver is a woman, mostly women of color. As Holly English discuss in her book Gender on Trial, these are the exact people who are already disproportionately affected in the workplace. The have a tough time asserting their competence, they are constantly having to prove themselves, and then if they decide to have a family, none of the previous work they did matter. They are then, automatically put on the “mommy track” and given less pay, less benefits, and less work. Essentially this will run them out of the job. Caregiver is synonymous with “mommy track.” Women’s right and Caregiver rights clearly overlap significantly. In order to go above and beyond, these corporations need to become more family oriented. They need to welcome women having children, and not scrutinize them so much for needing time off. They also need to make it okay for fathers to take time off as well so that the woman isn’t always the one that has to leave work. Doing this will retain valuable employees and make them more loyal to the corporation. A good example of this is my personal life is when my mom had to take time of for me to have a spinal fusion. She was worried they would not understand why she needs to take care of her adult child, but they did not even ask her questions. They worked with her, and allowed her whatever time she needed. They have been sympathetic to our situation for awhile now as I am coming up on a third surgery in one year. However, my mother plans on staying with the company a long time because she feels her loyalty lies with them because of their level of compassion.

Blog Post #35

The EEOC is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Their main job is to make sure that all of the anti-discrimination laws of the workforce are understood and properly enforced. Recently, they have been trying to promote corporations going above and beyond the bare minimum legal requirements expected of them. Unfortunately, these basic minimum requirements do not create a family friendly workplace. The current laws for family caregiver’s do protect their rights, but they do not help the caregiver out. The employer of a caregiver needs to be sympathetic to the fact that these people come to work and work, and then they go home and work. The most common caregiver is a woman, mostly women of color. As Holly English discuss in her book Gender on Trial, these are the exact people who are already disproportionately affected in the workplace. The have a tough time asserting their competence, they are constantly having to prove themselves, and then if they decide to have a family, none of the previous work they did matter. They are then, automatically put on the “mommy track” and given less pay, less benefits, and less work. Essentially this will run them out of the job. Caregiver is synonymous with “mommy track.” Women’s right and Caregiver rights clearly overlap significantly. In order to go above and beyond, these corporations need to become more family oriented. They need to welcome women having children, and not scrutinize them so much for needing time off. They also need to make it okay for fathers to take time off as well so that the woman isn’t always the one that has to leave work. Doing this will retain valuable employees and make them more loyal to the corporation. A good example of this is my personal life is when my mom had to take time of for me to have a spinal fusion. She was worried they would not understand why she needs to take care of her adult child, but they did not even ask her questions. They worked with her, and allowed her whatever time she needed. They have been sympathetic to our situation for awhile now as I am coming up on a third surgery in one year. However, my mother plans on staying with the company a long time because she feels her loyalty lies with them because of their level of compassion.