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For the last three decades, many of the nation's most talented women have chosen career paths in law. Enrollment of women in law schools has steadily increased over that time, reaching 40 percent in 1985, and almost 50 percent in 2000¹. Yet despite their growing numbers, women in the legal profession make up only a small proportion of those in top positions. In 2000, women represented 15.6 percent of law partners² and only 13.7 percent of Fortune 500 general counsels³.

In 2001, Catalyst conducted a study to determine why women aren't better represented at the top and what legal employers can do to fully capture the talents of women. The resulting report, Women in Law: Making the Case, reveals that the pipeline to leadership in the legal profession loses women largely because women are less satisfied with advancement opportunities in their organizations. Women of color, specifically, are even less satisfied with factors related to advancement.

What's holding women back? The women in law firms who participated in our study cited the following top five barriers to women's advancement:

1. Commitment to personal/family responsibilities
2. Lack of client development/general management experience
3. Lack of mentoring opportunities
4. Exclusion from informal networks within the organization
5. Lack of women role models

Strategies for Success
While law firms and general counsel offices must work to create more diverse and inclusive environments, women need to take an active role in battling the barriers and advancing their own careers. The following steps will help you get there.

1. Choose the right employer. Most students pick their first employer based on compensation, type of practice, and personality fit. But women students need to take a careful look at workplace culture and values as well, looking for employers with demonstrated commitment to women's advancement and work/life balance.

• Find out the number of women partners. Learn if there are women heading firm committees, leading practice groups, or in other leadership positions.
• Get names from your law school of alumnae who are working at the organization and contact them to get a comprehensive view of the work environment.
• Speak to women who use flexible work arrangements, and ask them how compensation and advancement are affected by these arrangements.
• Find out whether the person overseeing your work has mentored women and how he or she handles assignments, performance evaluations, and client access.

2. Take initiative. Both men and women in Catalyst's study rated "taking initiative" as a top strategy for succeeding in the legal profession. You can't sit back and wait for other people to give you opportunities.

• Talk to people above you to find out what it takes to advance in the organization. Make sure to talk to senior associates as well as partners.
• Pursue high-visibility assignments, even if it means going outside your comfort zone. Don't rely on the formal assignment process alone-and don't worry about asking more than once.
• Take credit for your work. If you have received positive feedback from a client, ask the client to convey that message to those evaluating your performance.
• If you want a flexible work arrangement, ask for it. First, talk to others on flexible work schedules and find out what competing organizations are doing. Then develop a proposal about what work you are going to do on the arrangement. Consider the trade-offs in terms of both compensation and advancement.

3. Find influential mentors. No one climbs the career ladder alone. Catalyst research has consistently found, regardless of industry or profession, that mentors can make the difference in a women's career success.

• Identify your mentoring needs and then assess who can fulfill those roles. Cultivate multiple mentoring relationships--rarely can one person meet all of your mentoring needs. Don't be afraid to ask for advice--whether it be on a specific legal issue you are researching or on office politics.
• Don't assume that you have nothing to offer senior mentors; they need to know what is on the minds of junior talent just as much as you need to know what is on the minds of firm leaders.
• Don't limit yourself to senior mentors. Peers and external contacts also provide critical insights.
• Be someone people want to mentor. Perform well, solicit feedback, and accept constructive criticism gracefully.
• Be a mentor. It's never too early to provide feedback and share lessons learned.

4. Network, network, network. Catalyst cannot emphasize enough the importance of networking for career advancement. The deeper and wider your personal network is, the more influential you will be at work. Taking the time to cultivate internal and external relationships is essential to developing a network of contacts on which you can draw.

• Organize events for other women where they can meet and exchange business information in an informal way.
• Once you have established a business relationship with someone, stay in touch with a quick note, occasional email, or holiday card.
• Cultivate and maintain relationships with law school professors and others you know outside your immediate work circle.
• To foster inclusion within your work environment, reach out to those who are different from you. Cultivating relationships across race, age, level, gender, sexual orientation, etc., will strengthen you both personally and professionally.
• Remember, a lot of business comes to lawyers in the form of referrals. Make sure lawyers in your own organization know what you do.

5. Build your reputation and visibility. Developing skills and expertise is important, but people need to know what you do. In other words, you have to develop visibility as well as credibility.

• Get involved in community organizations and bar associations.
• Write articles and take advantage of public speaking opportunities.

Legal employers are starting to recognize that retaining and advancing women is an economic imperative. Consequently, they have begun to address the subtle, systemic barriers that exist for women. But institutional and cultural change is often slow and hard-fought. Today's women law students and graduates can't just wait for firms to change. Instead, they can influence change by taking charge of their own success using the strategies outlined above.

For more information or to order your copy of Women in Law: Making the Case, visit Catalyst's web site at www.catalystwomen.org.