Southern Ms. Part VI: Identifying Discrimination

A few weeks ago I witnessed a female lawyer (hereinafter "Lady, Esq.") accuse a male lawyer (hereinafter "Gentleman, Esq.") of sexism and discrimination. It started with Gentleman, Esq. commenting on Lady, Esq. being rude and disrespectful to him. Lady, Esq. responded by explaining her snarkiness and sarcasm were in response to his condescension.

Gentleman, Esq. asked Lady, Esq. to "calm down." I know I'm guilty of a sexist stereotype, but nevertheless I've got to say it: "calm down" is possibly the most infuriating thing a male professional can say to a female professional. It implies sexism even where there might not be any. Gentleman, Esq. went a step further, describing Lady, Esq. as having a "hissy fit." An extremely poor choice of words, brimming with gender connotations.

It was at this point that Lady, Esq. brought out the big guns, the sexism guns, and accused Gentleman, Esq. of discrimination. It was the first time I've heard this type of confrontation. And it's made me think about how you identify discriminatory behavior for yourself and when you label it as such for others.

Judge Boone's Reprimand Also Demonstrates Progress

When news broke that Maryland Judge W. Kennedy Boone was reprimanded in January for calling three African-American women lawyers “the Supremes” and advising the defendant to “get an experienced male attorney,” people were dismayed. How could this still be happening? It’s one thing when Imus does it, but a judge.... Looked at through the lens of history, however, the Boone case is also a story of tremendous progress in addressing gender bias in the courts.

As Director of the National Judicial Education Program to Promote Equality for Women and Men in the Courts (NJEP) at Legal Momentum, I know that until recently the spectators in the courtroom where this happened would have laughed, the lawyers would not have felt able to complain, the judicial disciplinary board would not have reprimanded the judge and the judge would not have written a mea culpa or met with the three lawyers individually to personally apologize. When Legal Momentum inaugurated NJEP in l980 with the goal of eliminating gender bias in the courts, judicial comments like Judge Boone’s were nothing unusual. For example, when the New Jersey Supreme Court Task Force on Women in the Courts – the first of the supreme court task forces that emerged in response to NJEP’s judicial education programs – conducted its attorneys survey in the early eighties, one woman wrote that at a calendar call where she was the only woman in the courtroom, when she asked to be heard at second call because she had problems with her case, the judge responded that of course she had problems, “women are always the problem,” and everyone laughed.

Over the years NJEP and the gender bias task forces documented incidents like this across the country and explained that they were not just personally insulting to the women involved, but undermined their professional credibility and consequently their ability to represent their clients and their clients’ credibility. This led court systems nationwide to condemn this kind of behavior, and when the American Bar Association in l990 revised its Model Code of Judicial Conduct, the code on which state codes are based, it adopted a new Canon that directed judges not to manifest bias or prejudice on a list of grounds including sex, and not to permit those under their direction and control to do so. It was this canon, among others, that the Maryland Commission on Judicial Disabilities ruled Judge Boone violated when he made his “undignified and disparaging”remarks.

The disciplining of Judge Boone in this case demonstrates that the norms for acceptable behavior toward women in the courts have changed. Obviously incidents like these still happen, but far less often, and when they do, the targets can do something about it.

Lynn Hecht Schafran is the Director of the National Judicial Education Project, which is part of Legal Momentum.

Southern Ms. Part III: Networking

This week the female clerks in my building are gathering for our second "Wine on Wednesday." Wednesday was chosen because that's when the male clerks in the building hold practice for their all-male basketball league.

Sisters in Law

When I think about advancing the role of women in the legal profession, the women I know here in the U.S. are those that come first to mind. Sometimes I extend my attention far north into Canada. Rarely, though, do I take the time to think about how powerful a voice we--women attorneys who still have a tough professional road to hoe but at least have the undisputed right to a place on the road--might have in furthering the cause of our less fortunate sisters abroad. This article on the efforts of five women lobbying for the right to practice law in Saudi Arabia caught my eye.

Because Justice is a woman

This is an adaptation of the speech I delivered at our Legally Female conference last weekend. If you are wondering what Ms. JD is (or should be) about, here is my take. You might have a different take. I hope you will share it with me!

As you can see at the top of this website, the Ms. JD logo is a version of Lady Justice, and the watch-words of Ms. JD are "changing the face of the legal profession."

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Sex Discrimination at Hair Salons