Diversity & Inclusion
Will Diversity Tech (Finally) Transform the Future Workplace?
July 31, 2017
By Michelle Silverthorn — (Originally published on June 6, 2017 on the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism’s 2Civility website.) Last week I wrote about starting a new diversity and inclusion initiative from scratch. I briefly mentioned the buzziest new term in diversity and inclusion: diversity tech. Diversity tech is what happens when some of the smartest start-up minds
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How Can We End the “Pinkwashing” of Biglaw?
July 16, 2017
By Gemma L. Descoteaux — A quick perusal of the websites for the Am Law 200 law firms shows that big firms are dedicated to the advancement of women. They sponsor women’s events, host gender equality initiatives, and hold large women’s conferences. Yet, when you look behind the website fluff—what I call the “pinkwashing” of
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THE MANSFIELD RULE: Making Leadership More Than a Man’s Field
May 31, 2017
By Patricia K. Gillette — “What if we consider that it is not the women, but the system that needs to be fixed?” Whatever we are doing in law firms to increase gender diversity in positions of economic and institutional power is not working. How do we know that? Simply look at the statistics. The number of
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How Law Firms Can Move Beyond Diversity Plan Hype
December 20, 2016
By Caren Ulrich Stacy — Originally published by Law.com and The American Lawyer, December 6, 2016 — Law firms and companies never miss an opportunity to issue a press release about their newest and glossiest plan designed to boost diversity and inclusion. A quick search on Google reveals more than three dozen of these announcements
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Implicit Bias: Light It Up
May 12, 2015
By Patricia K. Gillette – Why are so many people afraid of the dark? Maybe because you don’t know what’s there. You sense danger. So you remain quiet and wait for someone to turn on a light. That is what it feels like to be the victim of implicit bias. It is hard to detect. And
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One of These Things Is Not Like The Other, Or Is It?
April 13, 2015
By Jacqueline Wilson Cranford – Some of you may remember the Sesame Street Song, “One of These Things (Is Not Like The Other)”. For me, it brings back fond childhood memories, watching Sesame Street and trying to identify those pictures, objects, or people who were distinguishable from the rest of the group. For many people, thinking
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Getting Inclusive About Inclusion: A Talent Management Strategy
January 12, 2015
By Lisa Horowitz – During the last ten years, law firms began focusing on firm-wide talent management (“TM”) as a driver of organizational performance. Simultaneously, firms also created diversity initiatives with their own separate leadership, activities and resources. While diversity initiatives have been and continue to be essential, unfortunately, when their efforts are undertaken separately from
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Leveling the Playing Field: Bringing In the Men
November 10, 2014
By Pat Gillette – Women had to fight for the right to take maternity leave. We had to fight for the right to work part time. We had to fight for the right to work remotely. These issues drove women’s initiatives, conferences, and publications for years and finally, the legal industry, as a whole, has
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Gender Diversity in Law Firms – A Little Less Talk and A Lot More Action
September 22, 2014
By Caren Ulrich Stacy – The lack of women lawyers in the upper ranks at law firms has been a problem for decades, and it’s only getting worse. Although there is typically a 50/50 gender split at the entry-level, only 16% of partners are women. And, to further exacerbate the pipeline issue, this year marks the fourth
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Why More of Your Women Lawyers Aren’t Leaders
August 18, 2014
By Ellen Ostrow – People in law firms and legal departments keep telling me that they wish they had more women lawyers in leadership but they can’t find enough interested women. When I ask them what they are doing to develop the talent of their women, they tout their training programs: “We have four sessions of
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