Not by Numbers Alone: A New Decade for Women in the Law

There has been a dramatic increase in both the percentage and the numbers of women who have entered the legal profession in the last fifteen years, but women have not penetrated its higher echelons — partnerships in law firms, general counsel of corporations, and chiefs of government bureaus — in the same percentage that those advances should be reflecting. While entry-level salaries may be equal for male and female attorneys, are women in the legal world discovering the same glass ceilings and barriers to entry at these top levels of economic empowerment that their corporate counterparts have experienced? The author states that the pressure of their numbers has not made it easier for women to attain these higher positions. But as legal firms compete for outstanding women attorneys, they will have to adapt to accommodate the specific needs of such women to assure their advancement