Law Commons^™

Social Framework Studies Such As Women Don’T Ask And It Does Hurt To Ask Show Us The Next Step Toward Achieving Gender Equality—Eliminating The Long-Term Effects Of Implicit Bias—But Are Not Likely To Get Cases Past Summary Judgment, Andrea Doneff

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Lawyers and judges long have relied on outside evidence—usually studies or empirical research—to help them better understand the impact or meaning of the facts in certain cases. In employment cases, lawyers have used studies that show statistical variance in hiring or promotion between men and women to prove discrimination. They have used studies that talk about implicit bias, the kind of bias that we apply without even knowing we are biased, perhaps the kind of bias we apply even when we are doing our best not to be biased, to understand that comments like “You should go to charm school” …