Law and Gender Commons^™

Litigating Transphobic Bathroom Bills: Envisioning Comprehensive Legal Strategies For Trans Liberation, Noah Lewis, Andy Izenson, Harper Jean Tobin, Ezra Cukor, Joshua Block, Pooja Gehi, Julie Suk, Kate Shaw

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

This symposium examines the legal and social challenges faced by transgender individuals, particularly in the context of bathroom access and anti-trans legislation. It emphasizes the importance of a holistic approach to trans liberation, combining legal advocacy, grassroots efforts, and education. The analysis highlights the multifaceted nature of trans rights, including the role of storytelling, intersectionality, and the impact of political shifts on LGBT protections. The symposium underscores the need for a comprehensive strategy to achieve equality and justice for trans communities.

My Hair Is Not Like Yours: Workplace Hair Grooming Policies For African American Women As Racial Stereotyping In Violation Of Title Vii, Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander, Linda F. Harrison

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

This article argues that workplace discrimination based on hair grooming policies disproportionately impacts African American women. The article seeks to establish that natural hair is an immutable characteristic, as is all hair, made mutable by social policies that impose an "acceptable" standard of beauty that was never meant to include or reflect black women. Often placed under workplace or other institutional grooming policies, the article posits that these policies are no more than a continuation of race-based policies that reflect unlawful stereotyping under Title VII and should be eliminated. Lastly, the article proposes a set of questions that test the …

Property's Immortality, Shelly Kreiczer-Levy

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The law ofpost most-mortem transfers assumes an autonomous individual, free to will their property as they see fit. This Article offers a relational critique of this legal reality, and highlights the implications ofsuch a critique for gender equality. Although property's role in supporting relationships and facilitating cooperation has long been celebrated, post-mortem transfers pose a challenge to relational legal theory. It is commonly held that death puts a stop to all relationships and defies all relational commitments. This Article builds on a different perception of death, and argues that the need to transcend mortality is profoundly relational. Property-related projects can …

Salvaging "Safe Spaces": Toward Model Standards For Lgbtq Youth-Serving Professionals Encountering Law Enforcement, Brendan M. Conner Esq.

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

The Overrepresentation Of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Questioning, Gender Nonconforming And Transgender Youth Within The Child Welfare To Juvenile Justice Crossover Population, Angela Irvine Ph.D., Aisha Canfield M.P.P

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

A Remedy For Male-To-Female Transgender Inmates: Applying Disparate Impact To Prison Placement, Janei Au

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Gay Rights Versus Religious Freedom, And The Influence Of Obergefell V. Hodges On Distinguishing The Dividing Line, Kathleen Rainey Mcstravick

St. Mary's Law Journal

Obergefell v. Hodges, a United States Supreme Court case, added more fuel to the fire, leaving many to wonder how to voice religious opposition to same-sex marriages, and what are the second order effects for religious opposition in light of the new rule. The Court held the Equal Protection Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Obergefell, brings the conflict between freedom of religion and LGBT rights to a new level by questioning how far freedom of religion can be used to refuse anti-discrimination statutes regarding sexual …

Trending @ Rwu Law: Deborah Johnson's Post: Diversity And "Defamation", Deborah Johnson

Law School Blogs

No abstract provided.

La Implementación De La Ley N° 26.485 En El Sector De Salud Pública En La Ciudad De Buenos Aires, Meredith Greene

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

A través de todos los siglos, ha existido la violencia contra las mujeres. Las causas de esta violencia son extensivas y tienen raíces en estructuras de ideología, cultura y género incrustadas en sociedades de todo el mundo. Hasta fines del siglo veinte, la violencia contra las mujeres era vista como un tema privado, de la familia, vivido puertas adentro, en forma independiente en cada hogar. Sin embargo, a través de las últimas décadas, muchos cambios ideológicos y socioculturales han trasladado el problema de la violencia contra las mujeres a la escena pública. En el año 2009, Argentina creó una ley …

Identity And Form, Jessica A. Clarke

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Recent controversies over identity claims have prompted questions about who should qualify for affirmative action, who counts as family, who is a man or a woman, and who is entitled to the benefits of U.S. citizenship. Commentators across the political spectrum have made calls to settle these debates with evidence of official designations on birth certificates, application forms, or other records. This move toward formalities seeks to transcend the usual divide between those who believe identities should be determined based on objective biological or social standards, and those who believe identities are a matter of individual choice. Yet legal scholars …

A Deficiency In Addressing Campus Sexual Assault: The Lack Of Women Law Enforcement Officers, Nat Stern, Karen Oehme

Scholarly Publications

The federal government has taken a range of measures to combat the scourge of sexual assault afflicting college campuses across the nation. Whatever the efficacy of these policies, however, they fail to address a major obstacle to curbing sexual violence on campus: the chronically low rate of reporting of this crime to police. Research on crime data has produced evidence that as female representation among police officers increases, more crimes against women are reported. Yet, most university campus law enforcement agencies-tasked with taking a “central role” in combatting sexual assault-include strikingly few female officers. This Article proposes an increase in …

“A Sordid Case”: Stump V. Sparkman, Judicial Immunity, And The Other Side Of Reproductive Rights, Laura T. Kessler

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

How Opting Out Among Women With Elite Education Contributes To Social Inequality, Joni Hersch

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

This paper, written for the 2013−2014 Symposium of the Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality, expands on my research showing that women who are graduates of elite institutions have lower labor market activity than their counterparts who are graduates of non-selective institutions. I provide new statistics on the relation between status of undergraduate institution and family background, likelihood of earning a professional or graduate degree, earnings, and trends in opting out. These data show that the gap in labor market activity on the basis of educational status was largely unchanged between 2003 and 2010 and that graduation from an …

Baker V. Nelson: Flotsam In The Tidal Wave Of Windsor's Wake, David B. Cruz

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

Part I of this Article sketches the virtually unbroken string of pro-marriage decisions in the lower federal and state courts since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling in United States v. Windsor to give a sense of the size and magnitude of this “tidal wave” of precedent. Next, Part II briefly explores some of the reasons that might help account for the flood of litigation and overwhelmingly positive outcomes. Part III tentatively suggests one way this flow of decisions in favor of marriage equality might influence the Supreme Court as it returns to the issue. Part II then at some …

Same-Sex Couples - Comparative Insights On Marriage And Cohabitation, Macarena Sáez

Books

This book shows six different realities of same-sex families. They range from full recognition of same-sex marriage to full invisibility of gay and lesbian individuals and their families. The broad spectrum of experiences presented in this book share some commonalities: in all of them legal scholars and civil society are moving legal boundaries or thinking of spaces within rigid legal systems for same-sex families to function. In all of them there have been legal claims to recognize the existence of same-sex families. The difference between them lies in the response of courts. Regardless of the type of legal system, when …

The Early Female Jewish Members Of The Maryland Bar: 1920–1929, Deborah Sweet Eyler

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Modern Day Scarlet Letter, Ifeoma Ajunwa

Fordham Law Review

    American society has come to presuppose the efficacy of the collateral legal consequences of criminal conviction. But little attention has been paid to their effects on the reintegration efforts of the formerly incarcerated and, in particular, formerly incarcerated women. An 1848 case, Sutton v. McIlhany, affirmed collateral legal consequences as constituting an important part of criminal punishment. More recent cases, such as Turner v. Glickman, in which a class of people convicted of drug crimes were subsequently denied food stamps and other government benefits, have upheld the constitutionality of imposing these legal penalties on an individual even after …

Critical Race Science And Critical Race Philosophy Of Science, Paul Gowder

Fordham Law Review

    Over several decades, feminist philosophy of science has revealed the ways in which much of science has proceeded from “mainstream” assumptions that privilege men and other hierarchically superordinate groups and existing socially constructed conceptions of gender. In doing so, it has produced a research program that, while rooted in the post- Kuhnian philosophy and sociology of science that has been taken up by many students of scientific method more generally, has been used to critique great swathes of modern science and to reveal both the biases of the mainstream, and the transformative potential of a science that proceeds from the …

"Law And Justice Are Not Always The Same": Creating Community-Based Justice Forums For People Subjected To Intimate Partner Abuse, Leigh Goodmark

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Difference Blindness Vs. Bias Awareness: Why Law Firms With The Best Of Intentions Have Failed To Create Diverse Partnerships, Russell G. Pearce, Eli Wald, Swethaa S. Ballakrishnen

Fordham Law Review

    This Article uses the example of BigLaw firms to explore the challenges that many elite organizations face in providing equal opportunity to their workers. Despite good intentions and the investment of significant resources, large law firms have been consistently unable to deliver diverse partnership structures—especially in more senior positions of power. Building on implicit and institutional bias scholarship and on successful approaches described in the organizational behavior literature, we argue that a significant barrier to systemic diversity at the law firm partnership level has been, paradoxically, the insistence on difference blindness standards that seek to evaluate each person on their …

How Diversity Can Redeem The Mcdonnell Douglas Standard: Mounting An Effective Title Vii Defense Of The Commitment To Diversity In The Legal Profession, Stacy Hawkins

Fordham Law Review

    This Article undertakes an analysis, both quantitative and qualitative, of the developing body of Title VII diversity law. The jurisprudence of diversity was first developed by the U.S. Supreme Court in equal protection cases, but it has not been confined to that context. In particular, lower federal courts have been adjudicating cases asserting an interest in diversity as a means of challenging or justifying race/ethnicity- or gender-conscious policies and/or practices under Title VII. These cases have given rise to a body of Title VII diversity law that has remained largely unexplored in the scholarly literature. Because these cases have gone …

Foreword: Diversity In The Legal Profession: A Comparative Perspective, Deborah L. Rhode

Fordham Law Review

    In principle, the legal profession in the United States and United Kingdom is deeply committed to diversity and inclusion. In practice, it lags behind. This colloquium explores what stands in the way. Leading scholars from both countries look at the gap between aspirations and achievement, and suggest some concrete strategies for change.

Shaping Diversity And Inclusion Policy With Research, Julie Ashdown

Fordham Law Review

    The legal profession in England and Wales is perceived as pale, male, and stale (that is, white, male, and older), but is that actually the case? And, if it is, what could or should a representative body like the Law Society do about it? This Article considers the situation from the perspective of solicitors. It reviews the research that the Law Society has commissioned over the last twenty years and how the findings have impacted policymaking. This Article looks at the main initiatives resulting from the research and considers whether they have made a difference and what the continuing challenges …

Busy Doing Nothing: An Exploration Of The Disconnect Between Gender Equity Issues Faced By Large Law Firms In The United Kingdom And The Diversity Management Initiatives Devised To Address Them, Savita Kumra

Fordham Law Review

    The Article has three parts: the first reviews the data showing women’s increased participation in the legal sector and assesses why increased participation has not led to inclusion at senior levels. The main barriers are macro and micro processes of social reproduction, poor access to mentors and influential business networks, and gender bias in society at large.

    In the second part, the response by large law firms is assessed. This has largely consisted of “business case” approaches to diversity management. The key characteristics of these approaches are presented, as is an overview of key practices adopted by large law firms. …

Going Public: Diversity Disclosures By Large U.K. Law Firms, Steven Vaughan

Fordham Law Review

    The Legal Services Board (LSB) has been the parent regulator of legal services in England and Wales since 2009. Born of the wide-ranging reforms introduced by the Legal Services Act 2007 (LSA), the LSB is tasked with promoting the regulatory objectives contained within the LSA, including “encouraging an independent, strong, diverse and effective legal profession.” In July 2011, the LSB introduced a rule requiring the collection of data on workforce diversity and the publication of that data by the legal profession. This was the first—and indeed, is the only—direct regulatory intervention taken with regard to diversity in the legal profession. …

Legal Professional De(Re)Regulation, Equality, And Inclusion, And The Contested Space Of Professionalism Within The Legal Market In England And Wales, Lisa Webley

Fordham Law Review

    This Article aims to examine equality and inclusion in legal services from the perspectives of would-be lawyers and would-be clients. It begins by examining the state and solicitors’ changing relationship regarding access to justice, professional independence, and the rule of law. It then considers the changes that the LSA 2007 wrought, and whether this neoliberal turn can deliver equality and inclusion within the profession and by the profession for those seeking redress with legal help. It also explores whether de(re)regulation may be altering the legal profession(s)’s ability to act as gatekeeper to the profession(s) and whether this too may have …

Bicultural Experience In The Legal Profession: A Developmental Network Approach, Jonathan Ashong-Lamptey

Fordham Law Review

    A developmental network refers to the egocentric network of individuals who take an active interest in and concerted actions toward advancing a protégé’s career. In Part I of this Article, I draw upon the literature to outline the lived experiences of black lawyers, highlighting the need for them to manage their working identity. In Part II, I further develop bicultural experience as a construct for exploring racial minority experience in a professional context with recent developments from the acculturation literature. In Part III, I introduce the developmental network as a vehicle for understanding developmental relationships. Part IV summarizes the methodology …

Diversity In The Legal Profession: Perspectives From Managing Partners And General Counsel, Deborah L. Rhode, Lucy Buford Ricca

Fordham Law Review

    Within the American legal profession, diversity is widely embraced in principle but seldom realized in practice. Women and minorities are grossly underrepresented at the top and overrepresented at the bottom. What accounts for this disparity and what can be done to address it are the subjects of this Article. It provides the first comprehensive portrait of the problem from the vantage of leaders of the nation’s largest legal organizations. Through their perspectives, this Article seeks to identify best practices for diversity in law firms and in-house legal departments, as well as the obstacles standing in the way.

    Part I begins …

Biglaw Identity Capital: Pink And Blue, Black And White, Eli Wald

Fordham Law Review

    This Article advances a new capital analysis, depicting BigLaw relationships not as basic labor-salary exchanges but rather as complex transactions in which BigLaw and its lawyers exchange labor and various forms of capital—social, cultural, and identity. Unlike the traditional Tournament Theory model, in which BigLaw and its lawyers come across as near hopeless pawns powerless to combat vicious exogenous societal forces outside of their control, the proposed capital model conceives of BigLaw and its lawyers as active players who are very much responsible for the outcomes of their exchanges. Moreover, exactly because the capital model describes the underrepresentation of diverse …

Race And Rapport: Homophily And Racial Disadvantage In Large Law Firms, Kevin Woodson

Fordham Law Review

    This Article calls attention to a different, heretofore unacknowledged source of racial disadvantage in these firms, one that is neither dependent upon these inferences of racial bias, nor incompatible with them. Cultural homophily, the tendency of people to develop rapport and relationships with others on the basis of shared interests and experiences, profoundly and often determinatively disadvantages many black attorneys in America’s largest law firms. Although not intrinsically racial, cultural homophily has decidedly racial consequences in this context because of the profound social and cultural distance that separates black and white Americans, evident in pronounced racial patterns in a wide …