Intersecting Disadvantages: Race, Gender, and Age Discrimination Among Attorneys*

Abstract

Objective. This article explores the impact of race, gender, age, and intersectionality on attorneys' perceptions of unfair treatment by other lawyers and on satisfaction with their legal careers. Method. Using an original survey of over 2,000 attorneys, ordered logit is utilized to analyze attorneys' perceptions of disparate treatment based on race, gender, and age and to test whether minority female attorneys face unique barriers within their professional relationships. Results. We find that minority women are more likely than others to perceive unfair treatment based on race, gender, and age. This also contributes to lower career satisfaction for attorneys who are women of color than for other groups. Conclusion. The findings have important implications for understanding attorney relationships and potential barriers for minority groups within a profession's culture. These obstacles not only impact attorneys, but could also influence attorney choice for citizens and the prospects for a representative judiciary.

Bias and Judging

“…They find Latina judges are more likely to assign important cases to themselves (as are white women), but this is not the case for black women (Haire and Moyer, 2015, p. 71). Relatedly, Collins, Dumas and Moyer (2017) find that female attorneys of color are more likely to report being treated unfairly by other lawyers. However, the literature on these topics is very limited.…”

Perceiving Discrimination: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation in the Legal Workplace

“…Studies that include longitudinal measures or a variable for age offer mixed results about whether workers will perceive more or less discrimination over the course of their careers (McLaughlin et al 2012, Hirsh and Lyons 2010, Collins et al 2017. Intuitively, we expect the rate of self-reports will decline over time as respondents who encountered perceived discrimination would likely leave discriminatory environments for less-biased environments over the course of their career.…”

“…As Hirsh and Lyons note, whether traditionally disadvantaged groups perceive that they are treated unfairly at work due to their ascriptive status comes prior to whether an individual or group files a legal claim (2010). Perceptions of discrimination by marginalized groups are significant in their own right as a matter of workplace equality, but will also likely affect their health and well-being (Pavalko et al 2003), their level of job satisfaction (Collins et al 2017), and their willingness to continue working for a given employer (Payne-Pikus et al 2010).…”

“…The scholarship on intersectionality suggests that women of color may be especially subject to discrimination and to reporting perceived discrimination (see Collins 2009). The survey of North Carolina lawyers by Collins et al (2017) found such an intersectional pattern, with African-American women reporting the highest levels of discrimination by race, sex, and age.…”

“…Despite widespread expressions of support for diversity and inclusion by leading law firms and corporate law departments (Wilkins and Kim 2016) and new rules of professional conduct defining sexual harassment and discrimination as ethical violations (Geraghty 2016; American Bar Association 2018), we possess little systematic data on the prevalence and character of workplace discrimination in the U.S. legal profession (but see Collins et al 2017). While this is surprising given the considerable body of research on race and gender inequality among lawyers (Rhode and Ricca 2015), it reflects the general tendency in research on inequality to analyze unequal outcomes rather than the mechanisms that produce and maintain workplace hierarchies of race, gender, and sexual orientation (Roscigno 2007).…”