Career Toolkit: Combating Gender Bias
| Type of Resource | Resource | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Podcast | Sorry, Not Sorry; Stop Minimizing Yourself | Prof Maja highlights how the language we use in the workplace can either promote or combat gender bias. It offers a table of proposed alternative language for common statements/expressions (for instance, instead of “sorry I’m late,” you can say “thanks for your patience”). |
| TedTalk | Don’t Apologize! | This is a TedTalk explaining how “feminine apologies” can kill our confidence and suggestions for how to reframe your mindset for success. |
| Article | Tips for Allies: 7 Tips for Men Who Want to Support Equality | This article includes concrete tips for men/allies who want to support equality. |
| Book | Breaking Through Bias: Communication Techniques for Women to Succeed at Work, and Gender Equality in the Workplace | Written by Andrea Kramer, a partner at McDermott Wil & Emery). In the book, she recalls her life experiences and occupational observations that she uses to provide tips to help women purposefully counter bias in the office. |
| Podcast | Navigating Gender Bias Preferences in the Workplace | This is a podcast in which University of California Hastings law professor Cindy Hoover speaks about her research in bias patterns in the workplace and how to navigate them. |
| Article | Tips for Allies: 7 Tips for Men Who Want to Support Equality | If you want to support your female colleagues, here are seven ways to challenge stereotypes, confront bias, and leverage your expertise and clout to benefit women in your network. You have a strong incentive to make sure that women succeed in your organization: men who work well with women and tap the full talents of their teams outperform their peers. |
| Podcast | Bias Patterns and How to Combat Them | This is a podcast in which University of California Hastings law professor Cindy Hoover speaks about her research in bias patterns in the workplace and how to navigate them. |
| Article | Institutional Strategies to End Bias | This ABA article identifies the often-hidden consequences of bias in the workplace (for example, that it creates an environment of silence, fear, and lost objectivity about the culture of the workplace) and lays out concrete suggestions for what firms can do to eliminate it. |
| Article | Suggestions from Women-Owned/Run Firms | This is an article about a black, female lawyer who started her own firm because her previous firm was not willing to allow her to work flexibly after having a child shares what drove her to start her own firm and how she’s doing things better. |
| Publication | Gender Bias in the Courtroom: Combating Implicit Bias Against Women Trial Attorneys and Litigators | This journal article discusses the history and impact of gender bias and remedies for combating it. |
| Thesis | Gender bias in the legal field: Experiences of female attorneys and law students | This is a thesis discussing discrimination in the legal profession, pay and promotion among women, the influence of the media, and women’s perceptions of their role in the legal profession. |
| Publication | Gender Bias as the Norm in the Legal Profession: It’s Still a [White] Man’s Game | This journal articles discusses the intersection of racial and gender discrimination and the failure of diversity and inclusion efforts. |
| Article | Bias Interrupters Project – You Can’t Change What You Can’t See: Interrupting Racial and Gender Bias in the Legal Profession | In partnership with the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), the Commission is proud to release a research report, You Can’t Change What You Can’t See, designed to reduce the effects of bias in law firms and corporate legal departments. The survey data were prepared by the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California – Hastings. |
| Publication | Implicit Bias in the Legal Profession | This publication by the IPO Women in IP Committee’s Push Forward Subcommittee describes how implicit bias affects the legal profession and provides recommendations to address it. |
| Article | Real Examples of Firms that Are Actually Changing How Things Are Done | These are examples you can point to and say, “Our competition is already doing this.” |
| Book | Stories from Trailblazing Women Lawyers | The captivating story of how a diverse group of women, including Janet Reno and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, broke the glass ceiling and changed the modern legal profession. |
| Website | Conferences for Women | The Conferences for Women harness the collective wisdom, experience and energy of inspirational women and men of all ages and backgrounds in service of our values: supporting and giving back to our growing nationwide community. It is committed to helping close the pay gap, eliminate gender discrimination and achieve parity in company leadership and on corporate boards. This site includes resources, podcasts, and events. |
| Website | Ms. JD | Ms. JD is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to the success of aspiring and early career women lawyers. Ms. JD is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of law students and recent graduates and supported by a small group of independent contractors. Founded at Stanford Law School in 2006 by a group of female law students from Boalt Hall (UC Berkeley), Cornell, Georgetown, Harvard, NYU, Stanford, UCLA, UT Austin, the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, the University of Virginia, and Yale, Ms. JD is a 501(c)(3) incorporated in California. |
| Podcast | The Mother Board | Have you ever wondered if you can actually have a successful legal career AND a family? Sure, work-life balance is all the rage, but can it really be done? Are you confused about whether working moms are supposed to be “leaning in”, “leaning out”, or just hoping there’s something to lean on when they fall over from sheer exhaustion? Then this is a podcast for you! Come join the dynamic ladies of The Mother Board podcast: five women with different backgrounds and backstories, but all of whom practice law at Drew Eckl & Farnham* in Atlanta, Georgia and share the common bond of maintaining an active role in their families while taking charge of their careers. In each episode, The Mother Board will take you into their personal and professional lives and engage in honest and thought-provoking discussions on what it means to be fulfilled and to succeed both personally and professionally. |
| Podcast | Women at Work | This is a podcast series by the HBR about topics relevant to women professionals. |
The Committee welcomes feedback from the WBA membership about the Toolkit at careertoolkit@wbadc.org. If you have suggestions for resources to include, please use “TOOLKIT RESOURCES” in your email subject line.