Unit D - Blog 24

I interviewed a woman name Tiffani who previously was a law student and paralegal. Tiffani left the field of law last year primarily because of the way she was treated by her male counterparts. Many of her answers to me interview seemed as if they were straight out of the book Gender on Trial. While she was a law student she said that most of the upper division teachers were male and the lower division teachers were female. During Tiffani's experience she said that women generally filled the roles as assistants and paralegals, and that men were almost always the managers or managing partners. When asked about the dress code and fashion expectations Tiffani stated, “Women were expected to wear suit jackets and those who wore skirts, nylons and closed-toe shoes. Skirts must be below the knee and not too fitted. I learned quickly to not draw attention to myself; not to wear too much make-up or even slightly revealing clothing. Those who did were immediately criticized and her abilities questioned.” Later in the interview when talking about her experience with other females in the field she brought up fashion and looks again when she stated, “I saw many female attorneys that had let their appearances go, in order to be perceived as tougher or more experienced..” I then asked her about some of the gender issues she faced and she stated said, “I definitely experienced a lot of doubt when it came to my decisions and I felt I had to support my arguments more so then my male counterparts with case law and legal rulings.” At one point she also pointed out that there were leadership stereotypes, similar to English's ideas. One example used was, “some believe women were stronger at building relationships with clients and teams in class.” and “... men naturally possess stronger in analytical skills.” I then asked Tiffani if gender was responsible for her leaving the field and she stated, “es. If I was argumentative, my was emotional state was questioned, while male attorney were perceived as savvy litigants. Then if I didn’t agree with my male counterparts, I would endure jokes about my personal life and menstrual cycle. If I had no emotion or reaction to comments, my sexuality was questioned. I was often referred to as a liberal because I felt all people were entitled to fair experience in the legal system. If my argument was validated, I was told it was because I was pretty or that I must have made sexual advances toward my opponent. As a result, I signed everything with only my first initial and last name, so my audience is unaware of my gender when reading my research.” While discussing other women that she worked with in the field she brought up the issue of being able to have a family and work life balance when she said,”It was difficult for many women to balance a home life and work life because they felt more obligated to spend more time at home with their children. As a result, many did not have children, multiple failed marriages or some chose not to marry at all.” The last question I asked Tiffani was her thoughts on why the field is so lopsided. She responded, “I believe males are encouraged more and believed to be more academic than women. Most in the field believe females are not capable of defending themselves against an attack, be it physical or intellectual. There is a belief stemming from the early 20th century, men are unable to detach their emotions from a wounded female as they would a male in battle. I think this notion transcended through time as women were incapable of serving in these positions, rather than the truth; men couldn’t handle seeing dead women. Actually, in certain respects this works to the advantage of the women in legal careers because men lessen their expectations and may be less prepared in ligations involving women. Also, women are more likely to attempt conflict resolution, rather than be combative and escalating violent situations.” One part of her answer that stuck out to me was when she said that men may not be as prepared because of their expectations of women. This is right in line with Enlgish's “under dog” strategy that women have used in the court room. The interview with Tiffani totally validated nearly all of the issue themes that English pointed out.