blog 39

Of course there needs to be several changes in the profession of law to help women become the 'ideal worker' since the ideal worker is severely out dated in today’s work environment and society. English's reworking of ideals and issues brings women more to date in today’s work environment. Alternative work schedules allow female lawyers to have a family but not at such a large expense of their careers. It helps them keep the hold in their firms that they worked so bitterly for in the first place. Alternative schedules, more access to the firm’s partners and higher ranked attorneys while being able to socialize within the firm would make women’s opportunities better and more frequent. Also women are afraid to take maternity leave and so are fathers paternity leave is frowned upon, we need to change or at least tweak the mindset that balancing life is a bad decision. Work in America seems to be at the forefront of priorities when in most countries its second, that being said a lot of countries have a fair more populated work environment, women wise. Another main reason women cannot seem to gain access to partners is because most are men. Men tend to congregate with other men, and women have a hard time breaking through the barrier. This is because they do not have access to the partners through company functions and meetings that are dominated by males. As a few lawyers pointed out many women’s actions seem to make other older partners think they are not committed, children aside women tend to look at different aspects of an argument and when there is an acknowledgment of the other side they are seem as impressionable. Women’s ways of dealing with people, time, arguments, and money vary greatly from their male counter parts and since it is a new way of doing things it is frowned upon and when you are frowned upon or at least your actions are you aren’t usually promoted.

One of these things is not like the other.

Blog 38

Judge of the supreme court of justice, appointed by a republican. Arizona senate leader and senator. Arizona assistant attorney general. This is an impressive resume for anyone, but let’s figure in that she is a female and she was the first female to be appointed onto the supreme court of justice, lets also figure in that she was appointed by republican Ronald Reagan and that was in the 80's when females were still struggling to get hired in law firms. O’Connor paved the way for women, and what is so extra ordinary was not only did she do it she did it in a south west state being a republican and she pretty well liked in general. The likable image is almost impossible for females in politics and law because we are not used to hearing a woman’s opinion. She also was a female that was pro choice although she personally against it, the fact that many of her views where liberal and she was a female who was still respected by her peers and stood strongly for what she believed in put a foot hold in law for women. Not only did she serve and was held in high regard while she was in office but she is still revered and has been given the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. Her vote, which was never accounted for because of her liberal or conservative views helped push many acts into law and helped keep reproductive rights for women as well as seal George W. Bush's presidency when she stopped the ruling for recounts. She has stood up for women's rights, as well as gay rights and the rights of minorities while holding a more conservative outlook on other areas. She has championed human rights while still holding true to her own beliefs making her the swing vote several times. She made herself indispensible to the court as well as to the history books by changing how Americans reacted to the law and how the law treated its citizens, especially those with very few rights originally.

Blog 37

What I find most prevalent with women in the profession of law is that each one has to make her own dent and fight her own battles. One women's success is not shared with others but one woman’s failures are shared with all. The negatives are always looming around the corner and they will always shine like a neon light affecting thousands of females within the same profession. The American Bar Association has several reports finding discrimination in various stages against female lawyers. While some progress has changed the problems females in law face it has been passive aggressive tactics to help them. Time, is not an option since that is how we have been handling sexism in the work place and it has shown unsatisfying results. I do think time will only help females since the women entering law schools keeps jumping up statistically and women are making up more of the percentage of co eds. Women are becoming more prominent in the work place despite little effort to improve their working lives by corporations, more women are coming back to work because of the economy but also more women are putting off having families so they can establish themselves first. Women are not the ideal worker because of families, which makes them postponing them somewhat of a irony, men will never take off time because they have a wife or a women to take care of their children. We need to change societal views as well as implement better hours that offer some flexibility without harming the mothers career or the corporation/firm. It seems that women cannot win in this profession because they aren’t aggressive enough but are too forthcoming. I female lawyers need to step up their aggressive tactics in the courtroom and leave emotions outside the door but we really need to stop stereotyping and putting all women in one category. You never hear about a male lawyer being emotional and thus effecting all male lawyers’ reputations.

Blog 36

I think women are itching to get back to work. Not all women mind you but many aren’t satisfied sitting at home watching the children. Women want to have careers we want to be known for being good at what we do and that isn’t just care giving. Corporate America will have to do some readjusting before it can lure a large percentage of women back into the work force and I think work life will be radically changed in the next few years. Time has not proven to be kind to women in the work force, and there has been more of a push to gain credit, and recognition in the work place in the past years. The way the economy is and the need for jobs will push women back into work and also have them taking less time off which isn’t fixing the problem but it is a great way to make strides so that future more economically stable women and men can make flexible hours and get the careers they want.

Women are already taking back their careers, more women are getting an education and more are venturing out into male dominated professions. Women are becoming more business savy, due to more education and more of an economic need. The cost of living is expensive and many women have husbands who are out of jobs, or are raising children by themselves so their need to work and to get good work with good pay has increased. More of them are carving out a notch in the work force because it is a necessity and others are refusing to take lower pay, worse hours, or be bullied into generally female labor like being just a secretary. More then likely the receptionist sitting at the front desk will run her own business or work her way because she is going back to school. Women cannot possibly be going back to school and enrolling for the fun of it. They are planning on having careers and going into the work force. We may not be able to lure back women but we can most defiantly make use out of the younger generations ambitions.

blog 35

The article gave insight onto men’s work situations which are being hit economically in these times; women’s work outside of the home has become more needed to support the family. I would assume that with this added responsibility of supporting the family fiscally would make women more of a lynch pin in the working world. Yet, it seems that women in the work place deal with the same issues that they did when they weren’t ‘bread winners’. Are gender norms that engrained in all of our heads that we cannot bear to see a women make a decent paycheck while the man nurtures his family? Gender norms are the reason women aren’t making bigger strides in the work place and most companies stick to the bare minimum when securing care givers rights. The more flexible the work place is the more women who are most likely to benefit can give to their jobs on off hours and from home. The communal stand point of flexibility at work and care givers rights would suggest we all benefit by helping others but in the world we live in now that isn’t a popular theory. The more we work cohesively with care givers the better their work will be because stress will lessen and there will be more work and promotion opportunities for women and minorities. Men still make the ‘ideal worker’ because they need no time to raise children, so women are still being punished in the work place. Women are making up more of the student body in colleges across the United States so it is interesting how work places are going to adjust with this new influx of females in a few years. Will they still be reluctant to hire females even though there are more of them with more qualifications? Will they figure out that women will be just as productive since they will be more qualified or will history and sheer numbers of work days prevail?