Ed.
note:
This
is
the
latest
installment
in
a
series
of
posts
on
motherhood
in
the
legal
profession,
in
partnership
with
our
friends
at MothersEsquire.
Welcome
Faith
Bentley
to
our
pages.
Click
here
if
you’d
like
to
donate
to
MothersEsquire.
The
adage
that
women
are
expected
to
work
like
they
do
not
have
children
and
mother
like
they
do
not
have
work
has
some
relevance
when
considering
female
participation
in
the
legal
field.
As
noted
by
MothersEsquire’s
current
president,
Sarah
Mannion,
any
number
of
law
firms
make
all
of
the
right
noises
but
fail
to
act
in
actually
supporting
mothers,
demonstrating
that
the
motherhood
penalty
is
alive
and
still
prevailing.
The
broadening
social
acknowledgement
of
this
penalty
has
initiated
reform
solutions,
such
as
the
Mansfield
Rule.
Additionally,
there
has
been
a
gradual
economic
recognition
of
the
nuanced
wage
gap
associated
with
the
penalty.
The
“work
family”
narrative
has
prevailed
in
many
different
avenues
of
the
legal
profession,
with
the
main
culprit
of
endorsement
being
the
culture
surrounding
the
practice
of
law.
After
spending
18
hours
with
a
global
consulting
firm,
one
study
determined
that
women’s
stalled
advancement
in
their
professions
was
derived
from
the
“culture
of
overworking.”
Although
most
can
relate
to
the
pressures
of
falling
victim
to
heavy
time
constraints
in
the
legal
profession,
mothers
in
the
law
are
directly
impacted
by
this
environment.
The
culture
of
overworking
reiterates
and
further
facilitates
gender
inequalities
in
the
legal
profession,
as
mothers
are
encouraged
to
take
career-derailing
accommodations
to
meet
the
demands
of
both
work
and
family,
imposing
a
dual
identity
onto
them.
Although
there
is
recognition
of
the
roles
imposed
upon
mothers
in
the
legal
field,
it
is
the
repercussions
that
follow
when
they
take
these
accommodations
that
are
encouraging
gender
discrepancies
in
the
practice
of
law.
Upon
having
a
child,
women
are
often
encouraged
to
take
make
adjustments
—
such
as
working
part-time
and
shifting
to
internally
facing
roles,
thereby
derailing
their
careers
as
they
once
were.
Although
these
arrangements
are
intended
to
best
serve
mothers,
parental
support
policies
are
unserviceable
if
they
are
disadvantaging
the
people
that
they
are
intended
to
help.
In
2023,
a
report
by
the
ABA
found
that
56.2%
of
law
school
students
were
women
—
outnumbering
their
male
counterparts.
Additionally,
it
was
found
that
41%
of
all
U.S.
lawyers
were
women.
However,
the
prevailing
issue
is
not
the
recruitment
of
women
to
the
legal
profession,
it
is
the
retention
of
women
within
the
legal
profession.
In
2023,
only
28%
of
all
law
firm
partners
were
women.
Sharon
Rowan,
an
award-winning
director
and
practicing
trial
attorney
in
Atlanta,
conducted
research
for
over
two
decades
and
found
that
the
core
reasons
why
women
leave
the
practice
of
law
are
due
to
the
tedious
work-life
balance,
the
unconscious
bias,
and
the
wage
gap.
Women
stay
where
they
feel
appreciated,
their
successes
are
recognized,
and
their
outside
lives
are
valued.
Additionally,
more
attention
is
being
brought
to
the
nuanced
“motherhood
penalty”
in
regard
to
wage
disparities
over
time.
Research
has
shown
that
when
employers
make
a
job
offer
to
mothers,
they
offer
a
lower
salary
than
they
do
to
other
women.
In
contrast,
men
do
not
suffer
a
penalty
when
they
become
fathers
—
it
is
actually
the
opposite.
The
“fatherhood
bonus”
prevails,
in
which
their
earnings
actually
increase
upon
being
a
father.
A
key
reason
behind
this
is
the
positive
perception
and
social
respect
that
generally
surrounds
fathers.
This
reality
could
greatly
diminish
by
bringing
awareness
to
this
issue,
encouraging
transparency
in
earnings,
and
redefining
society’s
understanding
of
motherhood.
A
previous
professor
and
current
mentor
of
mine
disclosed
her
struggles
with
this
dilemma
to
my
class
during
the
first
year
of
law
school,
which
consisted
largely
of
women,
sharing
how
she
used
this
conflict
as
motivation
to
become
her
own
boss.
Newly
returned
from
maternity
leave,
the
partner
—
who
was
a
male
—
initiated
many
deadlines,
phone
calls,
and
standards
without
regard
to
the
fact
she
had
just
had
a
child.
Torn
between
her
lifelong
ambition
and
the
reality
that
so
many
women
in
the
legal
field
experience
upon
shifting
titles
to
“mother,”
she
began
her
own
firm.
Her
act
of
bravery
and
resilience
is
admirable;
however,
upon
hearing
her
predicament,
I
could
not
stop
pondering
how
mothers
should
not
have
to
feel
compelled
to
make
such
a
decision.
This
dilemma
also
prevails
in
what
has
best
been
coined
as
the
“returnity”
crisis.
When
mothers
return
from
work
after
taking
accommodations
—
such
as
maternity
leave
—
they
return
to
a
newly
accelerated
environment,
with
more
priorities,
and
the
same
fast-paced
culture
of
overworking
that
was
waiting
for
them
when
they
got
back.
This
is
not
to
say
that
a
universal
conflict
is
placed
upon
all
women
in
the
legal
profession;
however,
there
is
a
dialogue
that
deserves
more
recognition
and
awareness
when
having
these
conversations.
The
Solution
A
national
initiative,
the
Mansfield
Rule,
is
designed
after
Arabella
Mansfield,
the
first
female
lawyer
in
the
United
States.
The
rule
is
devoted
to
affirmative
action,
measuring
whether
law
firms
consider
at
least
30%
of
women,
lawyers
of
color,
LGBTQ+
lawyers,
and
lawyers
with
disabilities
for
leadership
and
governance
roles,
promotions,
and
entry-level
and
lateral
hiring.
In
2023,
Diversity-Lab
announced
that
more
than
240
law
firms
had
achieved
certification
for
the
Mansfield
Rule,
with
that
number
increasing
annually.
This
is
a
step
in
the
right
direction,
as
it
is
bringing
awareness
to
the
social
discrepancies
within
the
practice
of
law.
Faith
Bentley
is
in
her
second
year
at
the
Brandeis
School
of
Law
at
the
University
of
Louisville.
She
is
passionate
about
advocating
for
children
and
hopes
to
pursue
her
career
in
Family
Law.
She
is
a
first-generation
law
student
and
when
she
is
not
studying,
Faith
enjoys
spending
time
with
her
friends
and
painting.