Gender Bias in the Legal Profession GENDER BIAS IN THE LEGAL PROFESSIONSubmitted to:Dr. Deepak Kumar SrivastavaFaculty, Woman and LawSubmitted by:Anushree ModiRoll No 69Semester Submitted on:9th !"ril #$%&Page 1Gender Bias in the Legal Profession TABLE OF O!TE!TSTopi" #a$e !o!c'nowledgements (Research )ethodology *+ntroduction &Gender Bias in the Legal Profession 6,onstitutional Bac'dro" -Se.ual /arassment face 0y Women Lawyers 1Stereoty"ed at Wor' %$Wor'2life 0alance %#+nfrastructure %(Factors that can mitigate gender 0ias against women in litigation %*,onclusion %1Bi0liogra"hy %9Page 2Gender Bias in the Legal Profession ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS3he "ractical reali4ation of this "ro5ect has o0ligated the assistance of many "ersons6 + e."ressmy dee"est regard and gratitude for our Faculty of Woman and Law6 /is consistent su"er7ision,constant ins"iration and in7alua0le guidance ha7e 0een of immense hel" in understanding andcarrying out the nuances of the "ro5ect re"ort6 + ta'e this o""ortunity to also than' the 8ni7ersityfor "ro7iding e.tensi7e data0ase resources in the Li0rary and through +nternet6 !nsuhree )odiSemester2Page 3Gender Bias in the Legal Profession RESEARCH METHODOLOGYSecondary data has 0een used6 3he study is descri"ti7e and analytical in nature6Boo's and other references ha7e 0een "rimarily hel"ful in gi7ing this "ro5ect a firm structure6We0sites and articles ha7e also 0een referred6%ntrodu"tionPage 4Gender Bias in the Legal Profession )arry !""le0y has correctly said that 9Law has fundamentally 0een a male "rofession: womenwerewelcometo5ointhe0arsolongastheyrecogni4edthat it wasdefined0ymen6; 3hiscertainly holds true in +ndia63hough women constitute of &$< of the "o"ulation of law schools, litigation has a remar'a0lylower "ercentage of women6 ! sur7ey 0y 93he Glo0al Legal Post; in #$%# found that out ofnearly *$$ senior ad7ocates designated 0y our country;s Su"reme ,ourt since %96# only & ha7e0een women6 +t also reflects that litigation as a "rofession, is tailored to suit a man, and e7entoday does not factor in a woman;s needs6+nfle.i0ility at the wor'"lace com"els women to o"t out of litigation6 3his is 0ecause under thegar0of gender neutral "olitics, a womanis forcedtowor'the same hours as her malecounter"arts and not see' any 9licence or li0erty; 0ecause of her child or family6 =ou see ane."ress gender 0ias when you consider women who do o"t for litigation6 Women are frownedu"oninlitigation0ecauseof astereoty"ecreated0your societythat womenare"rimarilyres"onsi0le for childcare only whereas the male is the 90readwinner; of the family and is 0oundto 0e more serious a0out his wor'6The Advocates Act, 1961 mandates the Bar ,ouncil of +ndia to safeguard the rights, "ri7ileges,and interests of lawyers under Section -6 +t is 0y the 7irtue of this section that gender 0ias can 0esignificantlyresol7ed0yincor"oratingaccommodatingmeasures suchas maternity0enefitschemes, mentorship programme, work-life balance, which the author ela0orates in her "a"er6Page 5Gender Bias in the Legal Profession &ender Bias in the Le$a' #ro((esion)There is no $reater ine*ua'ity than the e*ua' treatment o( une*ua' )Justice Feli Frankfurter, !ennis v" #nited $tates! woman;s needs are not sim"le nor are they the same as that of a man6 3o ignore this would 0ea'in e."ecting a fish to clim0 a tree6 ! fish cannot clim0 a tree and a woman cannot wor' in thesame conditions as a man could6 3he conditions could mean "hysical or "sychological6! man would not 0e deterred 0y something as minor as an 9unsanitary; 0athroom6 3his same"ro0lem would not 0e seen as a minor "ro0lem 0y any woman6 ! recent study re7ealed that whenwould0e womenlitigators were as'edwhat wouldma'e their wor'ingconditions inthecourtroom 0etter, 9(< of them wanted sanitary washroom conditions, along with more amountof 0athrooms6 +s it too much to as' for> +n 7irtuallye7erysociety, gender is a fundamental as"ect of human identityand genderstereoty"esinfluence0eha7iour at oftenunconsciousle7els6 3hesestereoty"eswor'againstwomen;s ad7ancement in se7eral res"ects, e7en among indi7iduals and institutions fullycommitted to gender e?uality6 ! related "ro0lem is that "eo"le share what "sychologists la0el a@5ustworldA0ias63heywantto0elie7ethat, inthea0senceofs"ecialtreatment, indi7idualsgenerallyget what theydeser7eanddeser7ewhat theyget6 Perce"tionsof"erformancearefre?uentlyad5ustedtomatcho0ser7edout2comes6 +ndi7idualsarealsomoti7atedtointer"retinformation in ways that maintain their own status and self2esteem6 Lawyers who ha7e achie7eddecision ma'ing "ositions generally would li'e to 0elie7e that the system in which they ha7esucceeded is fair, o05ecti7e and meritocratic6 !mong the other challenges faced 0y women attem"ting to ad7ance in the legal fields include"erce"tions and 0eha7iors of those in "ositions of "ower6 Because women, 0y and large, continueto ha7e the "rimary familial res"onsi0ilities, they continue to 0e "lagued 0y the "erce"tion thatthey may not 0e as committed to the "ractice as their male counter"arts6 Bne male inter7iewee ofa litigation firm o"ined that women were either lea7ing trial "ractice or una0le to succeed in trial"ractice0ecausethey@don;t li'ethedemands ontheir time6A3his o"inionmay7erywellmanifest itselfinthemannerando""ortunitiesaffordedtofemalelawyers6 Bneinter7ieweePage 6Gender Bias in the Legal Profession descri0ed the attitudes of the men in the firm as, @why 0ring you along when you;re 5ust going tolea7e anyway or wor' will no longer 0e a "riority>A Women lawyers also face challenges in earning res"ect from clients6 !s women are sometimes"ercei7edas @aggressi7elyAad7ocatingfor their clients, theymay0eseenas 0eingo7erlyaggressi7e 0y the men6 3his "erce"tion can, at times, ma'e their male counter"artsuncomforta0le and therefore unwilling to su""ort their ad7ancement6 !lso, many womeninter7iewed 0y the 3as' Force 0elie7e that the @good ole 0oyA networ' is still ali7e and well suchthat it creates a stum0ling 0loc' to their ad7ancement within the firm6 3hey 0elie7e that men tendto "romote other men, instead of women, 0oth within the firm and with clients6CONSTITUTIONAL BACKDROP3hedis"arityinfunctioningcan0earguedlegallyasaformofdiscrimination, 7iolatingthe+ndian constitution that guarantees e?uality under the 9Fundamental Rights; in !rticles %*, %&and %6 under Part +++6 +n fact the Su"reme ,ourt has time and again ruled against discriminationagainst womenes"eciallyonfactorssuchasmarriageand"regnancyarguingtheseto0eanatural conse?uence, an as"ect that was the main argument in the landmar' case of !irhostessNargesh )eer4a6 Ces"ite such landmar' 5udgments, +ndia lac's a com"rehensi7e anti2discriminationcodesuchasinthe8nitedStatesof !mericathat ma'efamilyres"onsi0ilitydiscrimination illegal6 Laws li'e the )aternity BeneDts !ct, %96% and E?ual Remuneration !ct,%9-6 attem"t to address the e.istent systemic discrimination against women in em"loyment, 0utfail toremo7e"aritiesthat e.ist 0etweenmaleandfemaleinthe"ursuanceof their careero05ecti7es6 3hisis0ecausethoughlawsorlegislationscanascertainchange: reFect societalnorms and mo7ement, it cannot change mindsets6% 3odayto com0ine a career inlitigation andcare for families is at "resent anindi7idualres"onsi0ility, and comes with conse?uences that hurt ones career gra"h6 +t is a glass ceiling thatis im"osed 0y an inFe.i0le wor' culture and an inherent 0ias that family res"onsi0ilities creates1 Sa7itha Gesa7 Hagadeesan, @Wor'2Life Balance, is it a Gender 0ased issue in the legal "rofession>A $%#&'()*, 6th 2 1th Hanuary, #$%#, &62-6Page 7Gender Bias in the Legal Profession wea'er andinefficient women"rofessionals6 3his re?uires transformationfromwithin6 3he0attle is against an inert human instinct rather than against o7ert 0eha7iour and that ma'es thise7en more challenging6Women;so""ortunitiesarelimited0yfactorsother thanconscious"re5udice6 )a5or 0arriersincludeunconscious stereoty"es, infle.i0le wor'"lace structures, se.ual harassment, and 0ias6 3hese 0arriers towomen legal "rofessionals are discussed 0elow6 SEXUAL HARASSMENT FACED BY WOMEN LAWYERSThey may appear to be symbo's o( +omen empo+erment but they are not sa(e (rom se,ua'harassment.3he term 9se.ual harassment; means @a ty"e of em"loyment discrimination consisting in 7er0alor "hysical a0use of a se.ual nature6A# Bne of the first cases you learn a0out when studying for a law school entrance e.am is &ishakhav" $tate of *a+asthan,which started the tal' a0out se.ual harassment of women at wor'"laces6 +t has historically 0een a well 'e"t secret "racticed 0y men, suffered 0y women, condoned 0ymanagement, and s"o'en 0y no one6 +t is a manifestation of "ower relations I women are muchmore li'ely to 0e 7ictims of se.ual harassment "recisely 0ecause they lac' "ower, are in a more7ulnera0leandinsecure"osition, lac'self2confidence, or ha7e0eensociallyconditionedtosuffer in silence6*2 &ishakha v" $tate of *a+asthan !+R %99- S, ($%%63 !+R %99- S, ($%%64 Se.ual /arassmentJ GenderK ! Partnershi" of E?uals, +LB, &1 L#$$$M a7aila0le at htt"JNNwww6sunday2guardian6comNanalysisNindian2women2legal2lawyers2face2many2challenges Llast accessed $&6$*6#$%&MPage 8Gender Bias in the Legal Profession Weseethat now, after the&ishakhacaseandApparel 'port -romotion.ouncil v"A" /".hopra0,women who are se.ually harassed at wor'"laces ha7e an o"tion other than ?uitting63he law has e?ui""ed women with these o"tions6 Lawyersareamongst themosteducated"rofessionalsof+ndia63hefact thatfemalesofthis"rofession are also 7ictims of such a "ro0lem at their wor'"lace is a matter of great shame6 3heyha7e little recourse other than ?uitting or letting whate7er ha""ens continue and "raying to godthat it does not escalate6 Bn %&th Hune #$$$ Sangeeta Sharma, a young lawyer "ractising in /ydera0ad committed suicidenaming three lawyers as 0eing directly res"onsi0le for her death in her suicide note6 3he causeJse.ual harassment6 Bne of the lawyers named, the "rime accused, was a senior lawyer who wasfairly well 'nown6 Before committing suicide she had s"o'en a0out the harassment to fellowlawyers, had 0een as'ed to Oforget itO 0y the relati7ely senior men and had recei7ed su""ort froma few women6When !smita, awomen;scollecti7ein/ydera0adas'edtheBar,ouncilof !ndhraPradeshamendthecodeof conduct of lawyerstos"ecificallyincludese.ual harassment withinthedefinition of gross misconduct, and set u" mechanisms for dealing with cases, according to the"rocedure and modalities laid down 0y the Su"reme ,ourt6 3he answering letter said that se.ualharassment wouldfall under thegeneral definitionof "rofessional misconduct or anyothermisconduct and that no changes were felt necessary66Fifteenyears after it laiddownguidelines to"rotect womenagainst se.ual harassment atwor'"lace, women ad7ocates a""ealed to the Su"reme ,ourt to e.amine im"lementing them attheir wor'"lace 2 the court "remises6-5 !+R %999 S, 6#&66 9Sexual Hara!e"# $" #%e Legal Pr&'e$&"() AS*ITA a7aila0le at htt"JNNwww6asmitacollecti7e6inNshl"6html +la# a,,ee- &" .5/.4/2.1507 D%a"a"1a2 *a%a3a#ra) 45&!e" la62er !&7e Su3re!e C&ur# #& e"- %ara!e"# $" ,&ur#8) Se3 9) 2.12 a7a$la:le a# %##3;6&!e">la62er>a3ex>,&ur#> +la# a,,ee- .5/.4/2.150Page 9Gender Bias in the Legal Profession O3hereis noforuminS,, or thecourts 0elow, for womentoaddress theissueof se.ualharassment e."erienced 0y them fre?uently at the hands of their colleagues and "ersons in whosecontact they come in while discharging their duties as ad7ocates6O1+t is not that such a "ro0lem occurs only in +ndia, or the "ro0lem is due to traditional male2centric +ndian society6 +n a study in %919, in the 8nited States of !merica, 0y 3he National LawHournal, 6$ "ercent of the 9$$ female lawyers sur7eyed said they had e."erienced some form ofse.ual harassment in the wor'"lace63he "ro0lem of se.ual harassment creates a deterrent effect on female law school graduates to5oin the litigation "rofession6 STEREOTYPED AT WORK@Women are not merely a 9s"ecial interest; grou", 0ut half the human race6A9-1ella Ab2eg +n order to ma'e sense of a com"le. social world, indi7iduals rely on a 7ariety of techni?ues tocategori4e information6 Bne strategyin7ol7es stereoty"es, which associate certain sociallydefined characteristics with identifia0le grou"s6%$PRBBLE)S ,!8SEC B= PREH8C+,EJ 3he force of traditional stereoty"es is reinforced 0y other 0iases in decision ma'ing6 Peo"le aremore li'ely to notice and remem0er information that confirms "rior assum"tions than8 $:$-/ 9 Ce0orah L6 Rhode, @3he 8nfinished !genda, Women P the legal "rofessionA, !B! ,ommission on Women in the Profession, "6 6216 1.+rwin !6/orowit4 P Genneth S6Bordens, @Social Perce"tionJ 3he ,onstruction of Social Reality,ASoc6Psychol61-,9%29* L%99*M6 Page 1.Gender Bias in the Legal Profession informationthat contradictsthem6 For e.am"le, attorneys whoassumethat womenarelesscommitted tend to remem0er the times they left early, not the nights that they stayed late6+fwomenareunderre"resented, themost"sychologicallycon7eniente."lanationisthattheylac' the necessary ?ualifications and commitment6%%+t is not necessary to "oint out that female attorneys often do not recei7e the same "resum"tionof com"etence or commitment as their male colleagues6 ! woman must wor' twice as hard as aman to 0e ta'en as seriously6%#!GGRESS+QE BR NB3!longstandingo0stacletoe?ual o""ortunityin7ol7esthemismatch0etweencharacteristicsassociated with women and those associated with "rofessional success, such as asserti7eness andcom"etiti7eness6 Women still face a long2standing dou0le standard6 3hey ris' criticism for 0eingtoo @softA or too @stridentA, too @aggressi7e @or @not aggressi7e enough6A )any of the womeninter7iewedrelatedthedifficultyofstraddlingthefineline0etween0eingasserti7e, 0ut not0eingla0eledas@aggressi7e6A%(Whata""earsasserti7einamanoftena""earsa0rasi7einawoman6 ! woman re"orted that when she raised her 7oice in court to argue on 0ehalf of herclient, she was told not to 0e shrill6PRBBLE)S F!,EC B= WBRG+NG )B3/ERS ! woman re"orted, her male "artners as well as her female "artners without children seemed tothin' that her career was @tossed out with the "lacentaA after she had her 0a0y6%*11 supra note 9, at "6%$6 124A Career $" #%e C&ur#r&&!; A D$@ere"# *&-el '&r #%e Su,,e &' 5&!e" 5%& Tr2 Cae8 at htt"JNNwww6american0ar6orgNcontentNdamNa0aNmigratedNmar'etresearchNPu0licCocumentsNWomenRinRtheR,ourtroom6authchec'dam6"df Llast accessed $&6$*6#$%&M "6 %*613 supra "e 12/ Page 11Gender Bias in the Legal Profession )ost wor'ing women feel that the e."ectation that fathers will remain fully committed to theircareers may sometimes gi7e them greater leeway than mothers in see'ing modestaccommodations for family needs6For anyone to rise in the "rofession "erformance is the 'ey factor 0ut in res"ect to women oncethey underta'e maternal res"onsi0ility there is an inert tendency to 7iew them Drst as mothersandthenas "rofessionals withlimitedam0ition6 3heir "erformanceis 7iewedas in7ersely"ro"ortionate to their "erformance or under "erformance in their domestic s"here6Women in litigation suffered as their "eers go ahead, they lose out on clients who "referred to o"tfor lawyers who were a7aila0le6 !ccording to a woman, who had re5oined litigation after hermaternity lea7e, @3he wor'2flow was cut as clients were not sure whether + would 0e a0le tomanage wor'6 3here was a "erce"tion that + would not 0e regular in court which + had to com0at0y sim"ly 0eing in court e7en when there was really nothing much to do6A5ORK>LIAB BALANCB@Women lawyers don;t ha7e wi7es to fall 0ac' on6A 3he wor'2life 0alance comes across as a ma5or "lace where the "ro0lems created 0y @5ust world0iasA come into "lay6 +t is womenwhotryto5uggle 0othhome andwor'res"onsi0ilities: theytrytoincreaseefficiency during their wor' hours to Dnish their load to get home in time to s"end e7enings withtheir children6 !d7ocate Phiro4a !n'lesaria way 0ac' in %91& stated that the 0urden of domestic duties andcares of the family does not lea7e women ad7ocates with ade?uate time for thought and study ofthe law6 Sowhena woman reduces her wor'loadit does not necessarilysignal reduced"rofessional commitment6 14$:$-/ Page 12Gender Bias in the Legal Profession +ronically, in a recent sur7ey of large law firms, se7eral women noted with resentment that whenmale colleagues wanted time off in the middle of the day for family reasons, they were thought9caring and de7oted; or 9cute and endearing;, 0ut when women left for similar reasons, they werety"ed as unrelia0le and uncommitted6 !n 9ideal; male wor'er is a "erson who is willing to dedicate as many hours as it ta'es at thewor'"laceontheassum"tionthat thereis someoneelseloo'ingafter res"onsi0ilities 0ac'home6A )s6 Swagatha Raha stressed on the need for a strong su""ort system at home in order tosucceed at wor'6 @3he assum"tion is that there is a wife 0ac' home, 0ut female lawyers don;tha7e any such wi7es to fall 0ac' on6A%&)entendtowor'withthe'nowledgethatgreater"rofessionalfocusmeans7isi0ilityinthewor'"lace and therefore they ha7e a more s"ontaneous a""roach to wor' hours6 3hey can affordto commit long hours and "ut families in the 0ac' 0urner as they are released from domestic0urdens with a woman at home ready to 0alance wor' life for them6 Women tend not to or cannotcreate an im"ression of o"en2ended a7aila0ility and therefore their commitment is ?uestionedma'ingher tostri7e more to"ro7e herself timeandtime againa0out her efficiencyandam0itions at each stage6%!F-AST-.T.-E3he infrastructural facilities that a woman re?uires are 7ery different from what men re?uire6 +t isnot the ?uestion of want: it is a ?uestion of need6 ! woman needs certain infrastructural facilities,es"ecially "regnant women and new mothers6 S!N+3!R= B!3/RBB)S+n her auto0iogra"hy, titled Bn Balance, Hustice Leila Seth descri0ed how @a mustyO storeroomAwas "assed off as the women;s washroom6 )ore than fi7e decades later, most /igh ,ourts and15 45&!e" la62er -&"C# %a7e 6$7eD8 a7a$la:le a# %##3;A $%#&'()*, 6th 2 1th Hanuary, #$%#, &62-6 Se.ual /arassmentJ GenderK !Partnershi" of E?uals, +LB, &1L#$$$M a7aila0le athtt"JNNwww6sunday2guardian6comNanalysisNindian2women2legal2lawyers2face2many2challenges Llast accessed $&6$*6#$%&M 9Se.ual /arassment in the Legal Profession;, !S)+3! a7aila0le at htt"JNNwww6asmitacollecti7e6inNshl"6html Llast accessed on $&6$*6#$%&M Chanan5ay )aha"atra, @Women lawyers mo7e Su"reme ,ourt to end harassment in courtsA, Se" 9, #$%# a7aila0le at htt"JNNarticles6timesofindia6indiatimes6comN#$%#2$12$%NindiaN(#9-9-(#R%Rwomen2ad7ocates2women2lawyers2a"e.2court2 Llast accessed $&6$*6#$%&M Ce0orahL6 Rhode, @3he8nfinished !genda, WomenPthelegal "rofessionA,!B!,ommission on Women in the Profession, "6 6216 +rwin !6/orowit4 P Genneth S6Bordens, @Social Perce"tionJ 3he ,onstruction of SocialReality,ASoc6Psychol61-,9%29* L%99*M6 @! ,areerinthe,ourtroomJ! Cifferent)odelfortheSuccessofWomen Who3ry,asesAathtt"JNNwww6american0ar6orgNcontentNdamNa0aNmigratedNmar'etresearchNPu0licCocumentsNWomenRinRtheR,ourtroom6authchec'dam6"dfLlast accessed$&6$*6#$%&M"6%*6 @Women lawyers donWt ha7e wi7esKA a7aila0le athtt"JNNmylaw6netN!rticleNWomenRlawyersRdontRha7eRwi7esNLlast accessed on$&6$*6#%$&MPage 2.