Biglaw, Minority Issues, Women's Issues

Women Of Color Face 'Silent Hostilities' In Biglaw Firms As They're Pushed Out Of Practice

They often don't speak about these issues because to do so would be a "complete career killer."

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unhappy black female lawyerWhen you find ways to exclude and make people feel invisible in their environment, it’s hostile. Women face these silent hostilities in ways that men will never have to. It’s very silent, very subtle and you, as a woman of color—people will say you’re too sensitive. So you learn not to say anything because you know that could be a complete career killer. You make it as well as you can until you decide to leave.

— Jenny Jones (a pseudonym), a fifth-year associate at a white-shoe Biglaw firm, who is trying to come up with an exit strategy to leave the place where she feels “largely ignored” by partners. Jones feels as though she’s been “idling” in her career, and has been unable to meet her billable-hours requirements.

(According to studies conducted by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession through the Women of Color Research Initiative, 85 percent of minority female lawyers will leave Biglaw firms within seven years of being hired.)

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