City University of New York Sociology Professor Cynthia Epstein said yesterday although women have made progress penetrating the ranks of large law firms, many are stranded at the level of associate partner or what she called "non-equity partners."
Epstein, who is one of the finalists to succeed George Demko as Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences director, addressed a crowd of 40 in the 1902 Room of the Rockefeller Center. Her speech was titled "Glass Ceilings and Open Doors: Social Change in the Legal Profession."
"All you have to do is look at law as an institution and see that there has been progress," she said. "Certainly [women] are not represented at the top."
Epstein said women made inroads in the large law firms during the economic expansion in the 1980's that increased demand for lawyers and led to more active recruiting of women in the legal profession.
But during the recent recession fewer lawyers were needed, those who were employed worked longer hours and fewer associates were promoted to partners. So many of the women have not yet been promoted to partner and are forced to work long hours.
Epstein said some gains made during the economic boom have remained, as more than 40 percent of legal recruits are women, about the same pecentage of those graduating from law school.
"But so many then drop off and the question is why," she said.
Epstein presented some results from a study she did of eight large New York law firms. In none of the firms she mentioned did women make up more than 15 percent of the partners.
Epstein also said how younger female lawyers do not see older female lawyers as role models.
"They don't see them as good mothers," she said.
Many of the younger lawyers are returning to more traditional ideas about families, Epstein said.
"When they have children they really take on a traditional view about raising children. They want their husbands to go for broke in their careers," she said.
Many of the men who are senior partners in law firms have good intentions, Epstein said.
"Many of them are not just bad guys or good guys," she said. "They think these women are quite useful and productive."
