There are certain challenges that woman lawyers are faced with. It seem that in order for them to advance in the field they have to be fully committed, which means they basically have to choose between their career or parenthood. If the woman does choose both, then their family is generally put on the back burner and the woman is labeled as a suspect parent. Although women are faced with these decisions, today more than ever we have a higher number of woman lawyers and justices. Women are slowly making advance in the legal world such as becoming partners in more law firms and becoming more powerful justices. For example we now have the first Hispanic woman to serve as a Supreme Court Justice and the number of women lawyers is climbing. The gap between women and men enrolling in law school is also closing and law school admissions offices are encouraging more women to apply to schools. Additionally, woman bosses are being praised for their skills that are different than men’s. For example, female characteristics that have been associated with being a boss are, teamwork, collaboration, communication skills, focusing on a business objective, innovation, creativity, and getting along with the clients. These skills are also beneficial to a partnership which is why the number of woman partners is increasing.
Regardless of the advances that woman have made in the legal field we are still a long way from being equal to males within the field. At this time women are still faced with the gender wage gaps as well as lacking in opportunities those males have. Additionally, women are faced with the decision of when to become a mother and the impact that it could have on their position within a firm. Women are also faced with the fact that there is less mentorship available for them and they lack more in social networking than their male counterparts. Until women are completely equal within the legal field, woman will always have to work twice as hard to prove themselves.
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