CDF Partner and Chair of the Firm's DEI Committee, Alison Tsao, authors the article "Women Mentors and Sponsors: The XX Factor to Breaking the Glass Ceiling in Law" for the Daily Journal Corporation.
Excerpt:
Why do women make up only 21% of all equity partners and 31% of all non-equity partners at law firms, when they make up 57.4% of incoming law school students?
What has been the barrier to women attaining leadership positions at law firms and corporate legal departments? Although the answers to these questions are assuredly multifaceted and can easily fill a law review article, many successful women attorneys would agree that they could not have achieved their professional objectives and leadership positions without female mentors and sponsors.
The last two years of the pandemic have caused a larger portion of female attorneys, compared to male attorneys, to leave big law or otherwise dial back their careers to provide for needed childcare, homeschooling or other family obligations. This phenomenon has led commentators to question whether, despite increased numbers of women entering the legal profession, historical bias and stereotypes about women continue to plague our profession. If so, can the roles played by women as mentors and sponsors to more junior female attorneys make a difference in turning the tide? I submit that the answer is, unequivocally, yes.
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Alison Tsao
Effective, creative, and equally adept at defending employers ranging from mom-and-pop sole proprietors to public entity employers and Fortune 100 companies, Alison L. Tsao resolves disputes involving all forms of…
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