"Biglaw has been aware for years that women leave the profession at higher rates than men. The data are well known. Attrition remains stubbornly gendered. Leadership remains disproportionately male."
"Too often, however, the explanations offered for this pattern point back at women themselves. They focus on confidence, ambition, preferences, or "choices." They ask why women pull back, opt out, or stop raising their hands - rather than asking what conditions shape those decisions in the first place."
"Work and home are not separate domains. They are overlapping systems. You cannot fully understand women's career trajectories in law without looking at what is happening at home - and how the invisible labor of running a household collides with a billable-hour model that rewards the perception of constant availability and uninterrupted focus."
Women in Biglaw leave at higher rates than men, producing stubbornly gendered attrition and disproportionate male leadership. Explanations that focus on confidence, ambition, preferences, or "choices" overlook structural and contextual factors. Work and home overlap, and household invisible labor collides with a billable-hour model that rewards constant availability and uninterrupted focus. Women are more likely to be default caregivers and to handle anticipating needs, coordinating schedules, managing logistics, and absorbing disruptions. Firms that fail to acknowledge how home responsibilities shape workplace decisions risk losing talent; responsive policies and managerial practices are required to retain and advance parents.
Read at Above the Law
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