Women in the Law
Too Many Law Firm Layoffs are Gender-Biased, ABA Commission Chair Says
Posted Mar 18, 2009, 01:53 pm CST
By Martha Neil
A recent cover article in Forbes magazine recounts claims being made by Wall Street women—and their lawyers—that female employees are bearing more than their fair share of recent layoffs.
But it isn't just on Wall Street that women are disappearing from the workforce, says the chair of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession in a letter published in the magazine's March 30 issue. Commenting on the March article, "Wall Street's Disappearing Women," attorney Roberta Liebenberg of Philadelphia says law firms are laying off part-time attorneys, 75 percent of whom are women.
"Too many layoffs are based on gender-biased evaluations," Liebenberg wrote. "In this dire downturn, we can't allow the economy to be used as an excuse for gender bias and roll back the progress we've made."
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: "Law Firm Layoffs (and Alternatives) Create Litigation Risk"
ABAJournal.com: "Women Lawyers at the Top Earn Significantly Less than Men"
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