What Legal Organizations Can Do to Prevent Unconscious Gender Bias

In this program, Andrea S. Kramer (“Andie”) and Alton B. Harris (“Al”) begin by discussing the disparity in career achievement between female and male lawyers. They argue that the cause of this disparity is unconscious gender stereotypes and the biases that flow from them. They explain why it is so difficult for even the best intentioned legal organizations to eliminate the gender biases that is so pervasive among both senior men and senior women. Andie and Al will also discuss the obligations of legal organizations to combat gender bias under ABA’s Model Rule 8.4(g). Lastly, they lay out a series of practical, effective, and easily implemented policies and practices legal organizations can adopt that will eliminate the discriminatory consequences of gender bias despite its continual presence.

Married to each other, Andie and Al have been working together for more than 30 years to promote gender equality in the workplace. Their writing, speaking, and mentoring all have as their objective helping women, men, and organizations to recognize and eliminate the discriminatory consequences of stereotype bias of all sorts, including gender, racial, and age.

Learning Objectives:

1. Recognize the prevalence of implicit or unconscious gender stereotypes with respect to women, men, families, work, and leadership; and how and what biases flow from these stereotypes
2. Examine how gender biases operate in even the best intentioned legal organizations to hold women back from advancing in their careers
3. Develop practical strategies and effective techniques to break through gender bias and improve gender equality in the legal profession