Women’s Initiatives in Law Firms:
What Do We Know?
What Do We Need to Change?
Stephanie A. Scharf
Founder, NAWL Annual Survey of Law Firms and
and NAWL Foundation Survey of Women’s Initiatives
May 1, 2015. Copyright Stephanie Scharf. All rights reserved.
The Big Picture: where women lawyers
stand today on four key indicators

Advancement to senior positions

Compensation

Rainmaking credit

Leadership roles
It’s substantially less likely for women
to move into senior positions
5%
MPs
17% Equity
28% Stipend
38% Counsel
44% Associates
68% Staff Attorneys
3
There is a compensation gap

Men out earn women at every level.

98% of firms report that the highest paid
partner in the firm is male.
Even at the highest level of firms . . .
Another day, another 85 cents
5
Modified text
Rainmaking credit?

In most firms, the top 10
lawyers given credit for large
billings are men.

In 98% of firms, the highest
paid partner is a man.

Traditional paradigms for
allocating revenue credit
impede progress.
Women are beginning to advance into
firm-wide leadership roles

On governing committees

As firm-wide managing partner

On compensation committees
What do law firms say?
What do others also say?
What do the findings mean?

We need to move
the needle on:
Equity partnership
Compensation
Rainmaking
Leadership roles
What can women’s initiatives
realistically do to effect change?

What are WIs doing?

What can WIs do better?

How can WIs be agents for change?
NAWL Foundation first-ever national
Survey of Women’s Initiatives

Goal: to obtain objective data as benchmarking
and as context for firm programs

Hard data about mission, programs, funding,
management, effectiveness, what works, what
needs improvement
What are women’s initiatives doing?

Initiatives exist in virtually all large firms
(AmLaw 100/200)

Missions vary from concrete to abstract

Funding levels (2011):
 AmLaw
100 $119,000
 AmLaw
200 $ 48,000
Who is participating?

Open to all women
lawyers in the firm (93%)
 Partners,
associates, staff
attorneys, part-timers

Most women attend (at
least sometimes)
Who lead initiatives?

One firm-wide leader (56%) or several cochairs (38%)

Firm-wide planning committee is typical
(75%)

But no additional compensation
or hours credit
QUESTION TO CONSIDER:
Are Women’s Initiatives placed at the
right level of power?
Common activities

Networking event within firm
96%

Business development activities
92%
(unspecified)

Networking event with clients

Highlighting achievements

Soft skills
87%
81%
76%
(e.g., navigating in firm)

Mentoring
67%

Leadership training
61%

Legal skills
50%
Common activities
 Part-time
 Flexible
work
work schedules
 Monitoring
 Anti-bias
97%
94%
promotion rates 79%
training
76%
 Monitoring
work assign’nts
39%
 Succession
planning
33%
What can WIs do better?
 Mission/goals
 Strategy
 Activities
with
direct impact on goals

Funding
How can WIs be agents for change?
FOCUS AND MEASURE

What are the strategic goals of the women’s
initiative in your firm?

Is there a programmatic strategy for achieving
those goals?

Are programs having a direct impact?
How can WIs be agents for change?
POWER AND FUNDING

Is your women’s initiative at the right place in the
power structure? Is there a direct commitment
to change from the very top of the Firm?

Does your women’s initiative have the proper
level of funding (or is it still in a recession
mentality)? Is it worth one associate? Two?

What one change would you make to improve the
impact of your women’s imitative?