The legal profession has been historically a male-dominated industry with limited accessibility for women. Nowadays, women are given many more opportunities within the profession and are allowed the space to work as attorneys. 

However, despite the opportunities for women to be involved in law, there are questions as to whether there is real equality, or just a faux sense of it. 

While men were involved with law and politics from the beginning, women had many barriers to overcome to gain their involvement. 

According to an article from Stanford University, the first woman graduated from law school in 1870, despite the profession being formalized over 100 years earlier. 

While women were technically allowed to attend law school, their enrollment didn’t start gaining traction until the 1960s-1970s when well-known and top-tier law schools admitted women into their schools. Finally, women were admitted into law school over 200 years from the profession’s formal origin, though at very small numbers. 

Despite this win, the battle was not over for women in law. 

Today, when looking at the women’s advancements in being involved with law, it is very impressive. Women have made the statistical makeup of the legal profession a lot more equal with their involvement. 

When looking at the two law schools in Wisconsin, the statistics show the similarities in enrollment. At Marquette University’s Law School 55% of the Fall 2024 entering class is women, making women the majority of the enrolled students. At the University of Wisconsin- Madison’s Law School, in 2020, women made up 46% of enrolled students. 

Men and women are both showing almost equal representation in law schools across Wisconsin and the United States. There are similarities in representation of practicing attorneys. 

According to the American Bar Association (ABA), “from 1950 to 1970, only 3% of all lawyers were women … the percentage has edged up gradually since then [with] 41% in 2024.” 

Despite the statistical evidence that there is equal representation of men and women in the legal profession, there are still problems that women face as practicing lawyers. 

Women in the legal field often deal with sexism. An article from Forbes explains many examples of sexist challenges that women lawyers face, including, “Female Lawyers Mistaken For Janitors, Administrators Or Court Personnel … Female Lawyers Penalized For Assertive

Behavior Required By The Job … Female Lawyers More Likely To Be Interrupted … [and] Female Lawyers Paid Less Than Equally Qualified Colleagues.” 

This type of sexism deliberately limits a woman lawyer’s ability to do her job. Many of the actions that women have been penalized for, equate to an ambitious, assertive male lawyer. Some of these actions and attitudes are necessary for success in a court trial, and women are being limited in their ability to perform. 

Not only are women experiencing sexism, but there is also gender bias that they face. Clients may choose not to pursue a woman lawyer due to the Goldilocks Dilemma, as described by the ABA. 

The ABA describes, “if they conform to the dominant feminine stereotypes — they are often seen as “too soft” to be effective leaders … if they adopt traditionally masculine behaviors — [they are] seen as “too hard” to be effective leaders.” 

Lastly, women face challenges surrounding motherhood. After becoming mothers, many women are treated differently, including being perceived as more soft. Therefore, women lawyers are penalized for being too dominant and job-focused before motherhood, but the opposite is considered after motherhood. Women truly can’t win in this battle. 

The statistics show that there is equal representation in law schools and in the industry itself. However, if women are unable to perform their jobs correctly due to issues such as sexism, gender bias and inflexibility with motherhood, is the legal profession actually equal, or is there a disparity? 

While women have made significant progress within the legal profession, sexism and gender bias remain as a barrier. 

True equality goes beyond the statistics and must take root in the practices and culture of the workplace. Empowering women, as society does to men, removes gendered limitations and can lead to a more progressive and productive profession.