License to Thrive

20th Anniversary of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession

2007 represents the twentieth anniversary of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession.  Representing the key work and research of the Commission is the Visible Invisibility: Women of Color in Law Firms report focused on the issue of women of color and their unique challenges and issues within the field of law.

Visible Invisibility: Women of Color in Law Firms presents the findings of the survey and focus group research and concludes with specific recommendations for law firms interested in retaining women of color. 

The ABA Commission on Women was inspired to examine the professional trajectory of women of color based on research in the late 1990s by the National Association of Law Placement that suggested that virtually all women lawyers of color working in private practice had left their positions at major law firms within eight years. A more recent study by NALP found that from 1998 to 2003 nearly two-thirds (64.4 percent) of minority females left their firms within 55 months of being hired. 

While there has been research conducted on issues specifically related to all women and specifically related to all people of color in the legal profession, there has been no comprehensive study which has specifically focused on women lawyers of color. The Commission on Women determined that there is a need for a comprehensive analysis on the unique concerns and experiences of Hispanic, African-American, Native American, and Asian American women in the legal profession and embarked upon the development of a research study that explores the unique experiences of these women who had worked in a law firm of 25 attorneys or more and begins the dialogue on how the legal profession can facilitate the full and robust participation of this group of talented lawyers. 

To order the final report, go to http://www.abanet.org/women/woc/wocinitiative.html

Story and logo courtesy American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession