Gender, Women's Issues

Increase Diversity In The Legal Profession By Ending All-Male Panels

The commitment is simple: Don't speak on any panels that do not include women.

By  
on

Ed. note: This post is by Jeena Cho, a Legal Mindfulness Strategist at Start Here HQ. She is the co-author of The Anxious Lawyer (affiliate link), a book written by lawyers for lawyers that makes mindfulness and meditation accessible and approachable. Jeena offers actionable change strategies for reducing stress and anxiety while increasing productivity, joy, and satisfaction through mindfulness.

Often in my conversations on increasing diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, a common thread is feeling of helplessness. As much as we would like to have more equality and equity in the legal profession, it can feel daunting and overwhelming for an individual. There is so much to be done.

I first came across the idea of a simple, actionable step — something we can all do to increase diversity and inclusion in the legal profession (and elsewhere).

It’s from the team at August, who describe themselves as a “new kind of consulting company designed for a world where constant change, complexity, and uncertainty are the new normal. August’s approach helps organizations optimize for uncertainty by emphasizing agility and experimentation.”

The commitment is simple: Don’t speak on any panels that do not include women.

It’s easy to practice. When you’re invited to speak on a panel, ask the organizer, “Who are the other speakers?” If it’s all male, you can explain that you believe diversity and inclusion is important in our profession. You can ask that the organizer add another woman speaker and/or decline.

Sponsored

This idea is catching on. Over on GenderAvenger, there is a pledge where you can publicly commit to not speaking on all-male panels. (A panel consists of three or more people.)

You can see the full list of people who have taken the pledge. As of Sunday, August 20, 2017, there are three lawyers, including:

  • Charles J. Glasser Jr., Esq.
  • JJ Kapp, Supervising Attorney, Santa Clara County Public Defender’s Office
  • Alfons López Tena, jurist and politician

Sponsored

When I’ve suggested this idea, men will sometimes object. They’ll tell me very specific situations where all-male panels can’t be avoided. For example, if you want to do a CLE on the “trial of the century” of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, all the players will be men.

Continue reading over at Jeena’s website…

Topics

, , , , ,