Bias remains a persistent issue in law firms despite efforts to promote equality and diversity in the workplace. Women continue to face challenges in securing leadership positions, earning promotions, and receiving equitable compensation. This article explores the barriers women encounter in law firms and offers practical suggestions for reducing bias and increasing transparency in performance evaluations. It also emphasizes the…
In the landmark gender discrimination case, Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228 (1989), the Supreme Court recognized that discrimination based on an employee’s failure to conform to gender role stereotypes is prohibited under Title VII. As the Supreme Court reasoned, “an employer who acts on the basis of a belief that a woman cannot be aggressive, or that she must…
In May of this year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reached a $100,000 settlement agreement in a gender discrimination case against a Florida insurance broker. Why? The company revoked a woman’s job offer “20 minutes after she asked her would-be supervisor about its maternity policy.” Citing an “urgent” need to have someone in the position “long term,” the company…
Janet Yellen, Chair of the Federal Reserve and arguably the most powerful woman in the world, is best known for her role in U.S. monetary policy. But in a recent speech, she tackled a totally different subject – women’s economic progress over the past century. Her speech, So We All Can Succeed: 125 Years of Women’s Participation in the Economy, is a…
In the past year, lawmakers in Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, New York City, and Philadelphia have passed “salary history laws.” These new laws make it illegal for employers to ask job applicants about their current salaries or the salaries they earned at previous jobs. To put it simply, these laws take your salary history off the table. Employers shouldn’t ask about…
I originally published this post in advance of a panel event commemorating Equal Pay Day. The event involved a lively discussion on the gender pay gap, as well as how best to communicate the issue of equal pay in our current political climate. For additional information on the gender pay gap, follow this blog! For additional information on other WBA…
Breastfeeding employees frequently encounter barriers in the workplace that impede their ability to pump on the job. Horror stories abound of women who are denied a clean, private space to pump or who are shamed and penalized for pumping at work. Thanks to the advent of federal and state legislation and an emerging body of case law, nursing mothers, and…
Before I go to work every morning, I engage in a ritual that my husband has never needed to. As the New York Times reports, this ritual is can make women appear confident, capable, reliable, or likable in the workplace, and can even lead to a higher salary when compared to other women. What is it? Unfortunately, it has nothing to do…
On February 15, 2017, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against Hidden Hawaii Tours alleging that the President of the company engaged in a pattern of sexually harassing his young employees. Unfortunately, that’s not an uncommon scenario. The difference in this case is that the victims were men. According to the EEOC lawsuit, for more than a…
In a 2007 study, Cornell sociologists Correll, Benard, and Paik examined the motherhood penalty, a phrase sociologists use to describe the systemic disadvantages that working mothers often encounter in hiring, pay, promotion, and other aspects of their employment. In the United States, mothers suffer a per-child wage penalty of approximately 5%, controlling for similar qualifications and work performance. In their study,…