Women On Top

Everyone knows that men dominate the legal profession, but to what degree? Big time, evidently. In America?s largest firms, men hold 84 percent of equity partnerships and 92 percent of managing partner positions, according to the 2007 National Survey on Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms from the Chicago-based National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL). They also earn nearly $90,000 more in annual compensation than female equity partners. NAWL?s goal: to double the percentage of women equity partners by 2015, from 15 percent to 30 percent.

Here are the association?s suggestions for boosting the number of women equity partners at your firm.
-Publish the criteria for advancement to equity partner.
- Refine leadership evaluation criteria at all levels.
- Identify and correct hidden bias.
- Structure compensation systems to promote:
     *the advancement of women into leadership positions
     *the retention and promotion of women
     *the increase of women?s business development
- Publish compensation criteria.
- Require succession planning.
- Facilitate fair-credit attribution.
- Address legacy systems.
- Measure women?s access to key business-development opportunities.
- Provide training in leadership, business development, work-place behavior, communication, mentoring, and networking.

Source: NAWL?s Actions for Advancing Women Into Law Firm Leadership, 2008

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