Subtle roadblocks exist for women in the law

The articles about women being at a disadvantage in the work place, especially in the law, keep coming. The latest from the Boston Business Journal in an article entitled ‘Subtle roadblocks still exist for women in business.’

From Lauren Stiller Rikleen, a senior partner at Bowditch & Dewey, and author of the book, Ending the Gauntlet: Removing Barriers to Women’s Success in the Law:

There was a sense of isolation. I think there are institutional barriers to women’s success. The overt discrimination — that part is gone, but the subtle institutional barriers that can be just as powerful still remain.

Through the years that she was building her career in technology, Jana Eggers would get the impression from time to time that a few of her colleagues had low expectations of her.

From Jessica Reardon, program director at Boston-based The Commonwealth Institute, an organization that supports women in business:

It’s harder for women to break into industries where there aren’t as many flexible working models. Law firms are a great example of that. There’s one way to get to the top. If it’s not set up the way you want to run your life, you’re up a creek. What we find is when women come up against those concerns they would rather start their own businesses. It’s not that they work less, but it’s on their own terms.

Lot of discussion. Would be nice to see real action in law firms.