26: Law as a Gendered Organization Part II

A gendered organization can be defined as an institution in which one's gender is a part of one's role in the institution and the institution works to perpetuate the notions about one's gender through its structure and practices. This means that in, for example, a law firm, men are automatically expected to have more responsibilities, make more money and do tougher jobs, and therefore they receive all of the above. On the flip side, women are expected to vacate positions quickly, be less assertive, have less responsibility and generally answer to and rely on men, and the structure and practices of the firm, generally, assure that these expectations are met repeatedly. It is also reflected in the long hours required of lawyers. Men, who typically are not the primary caretaker for children and a spouse, are simply normal for working excessive hours. While women who face the same time demands are unable to have the home life society dictates that they should maintain.

Male lawyers play the role of backer to women lawyers. This means that, when in a bind or in need of support, a woman turns to a male counterpart to validate her stance or assist in some capacity. In Holly English's "Gender on Trial," she found repeated instances of women needing men in their office to back them up. This shows that obviously a law firm is a gendered organization because women are consistently assigned lesser value than men. A few examples that English expounds upon include one woman's need for assistance in dealing with a blatantly disrespectful man: "I had one of the guys deal with him, to take a deposition, because it was so important to our case" (87). The man who was rude to her, an opposing attorney, made no snide remarks when a man was in her place. "With my male colleague in the deposition, the hostile guy was really mild. If there's male supervision he doesn't do it" (87).

Another example English provides revolves around a woman and her male colleague, who is well known and favored by clients. After both he and she meet with a client to explain that she will take on the case, she references him as a source of power. This female fifteen-year litigator said that once she has an established client "and when I start giving advice to them that I know will not be well-received, instead of waiting for them to say, 'What does John think?' I preface it with 'John and I talked about this.' It's both a gender thing and a superior/inferior thing" (87).

These two examples illustrate the range of male backing in the law world. The male backing can be anything from a verbal reference to a male authority, to a male authority physically stepping into a situation and handling it. From either end of the spectrum, men are the ones in control in this environment, and the environment itself perpetuates the status quo.