Law and Gender Commons^™

Biology For Feminists, Katharine K. Baker

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No abstract provided.

The Glass Ceiling In Law Firms: A Form Of Sex-Based Discrimination, Rebecca Korzec

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At a certain level, women lawyers collide with a "glass ceiling," an invisible, artificial barrier which prevents women from being promoted to management and leadership positions within a business or firm. The glass ceiling 'represents a subtle form of sex discrimination - unwritten, generally unspoken, but very pervasive.' Its presence is reflected in trends and statistics which consistently reveal women's underrepresentation in executive and management positions.

This article focuses on whether the glass ceiling formed as a result of sex discrimination, blatant or subtle, or whether it formed as a result of women lawyers' differing qualifications or career choices. It …

Feminist Foundations For The Law Of Business: One Law And Economics Scholar's Survey And (Re)View, Barbara Ann White

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The purpose of this Essay is to suggest frameworks and modes of inquiry for applying feminist legal analysis to business law and the related theory of law and economics. It does so in two ways. One is to assess works already written by feminist scholars in the business law arena, highlighting how those contributions have begun to pave the way towards enriching the scope of business law analysis. The other is to offer two new roles for feminist jurisprudence. One role is to define just (that is, fair) distributions of rights and the other role is to define social judgments …

What Rape Is And What It Ought Not Be, Katharine K. Baker

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No abstract provided.

Sex, Rape And Shame, Katharine K. Baker

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This article explores how shame sanctions may be able to change the social meaning and decrease the prevalence of date rape. Arguing that men's tendency to date rape is fostered by social norms that treat sex as an accomplishment and, importantly, an accomplishment that enhances a man's masculinity status, the article suggests that one way to curb date rape is to curb the extent to which it is associated with masculine behavior. This strategy is necessary because the high premium society places on masculinity and the cultural confusion about when date rape is morally wrong and how it is different …

Text, Context And The Problem With Rape, Katharine K. Baker

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No abstract provided.

Reproducing A Fit Citizenry: Dependency, Eugenics, And The Law Of Marriage In The United States, Matthew Lindsay

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Between the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era, American state legislatures enacted a series of new laws that delineated a class of citizens who were deemed ineligible to participate in the institution of marriage. Scholars have characterized this development as evidence that lawmakers had lost faith in a laissez-faire approach to nuptial governance, and thus transformed marriage into an object of public regulation. This essay argues that behind the ostensible nuptial privatism of the mid-nineteenth century lay a self-conscious policy. of judicial governance. Judges invoked the language of nuptial privacy and the common law of contract strategically to advance their …

'M' Is For The Many Things That 'Mother' Means Family Life Has Changed, But Family Law Hasn't Kept Pace, Jane C. Murphy

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No abstract provided.

Assembly Bill To Speed Divorce After Abuse Will Save Many Lives, Bring Needed Reform, Jane C. Murphy

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No abstract provided.

Property Rules Meet Feminist Needs: Respecting Autonomy By Valuing Connection, Katharine K. Baker

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No abstract provided.

A Feminist View Of American Elder Law, Rebecca Korzec

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ANY discussion of contemporary American elder law must consider gender issues. A number of gender concerns are readily discernible, including workplace and family issues. Significantly, sex-based disparities are increasing within the elderly population. In turn, these disparities exacerbate problems of fairness and equity in meeting intergenerational family needs and expectations.

As with childrearing, in contemporary American society, the major caregiving responsibility for the growing number of frail elderly falls largely on women rather than men. With an increasing number of women working outside the family home, the intersection of work and family issues is receiving considerable attention both in academic …

A Wigmorian Defense Of Feminist Methods, Katharine K. Baker

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No abstract provided.

Taking Care Of Our Daughters, A Book Review Of Martha Fineman, The Neutered Mother, The Sexual Family And Other Twentieth Century Tragedies, Katharine K. Baker

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No abstract provided.

Once A Rapist? Motivational Evidence And Relevancy In Rape Law, Katharine K. Baker

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No abstract provided.

Working On The "Mommy-Track": Motherhood And Women Lawyers, Rebecca Korzec

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This Article examines the effects of motherhood on the careers of women lawyers and the efficacy of the 'mommy-track' as a means of ameliorating these effects. Part I examines the current position of women in the legal profession. Part II examines the nature of 'motherhood' and the risk/benefit function of 'mommy-tracking.' Part III analyzes the 'mommy-track' from the perspective of feminist jurisprudence. Finally, Part IV examines issues related to workplace transformation. It is the position of this paper that 'mommy-tracking' reinforces undesirable stereotypes. Ironically, this apparent 'solution' actually forestalls the transformations, at home and at work, which could enable women …

Free Speech Faces Hostile Environment: An Aggressive Hunt For Sex Harassment Leaves Plenty Of Wreckage, Kenneth Lasson

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Take the case of James Maas, who has been teaching at Cornell University for more than 30 years and whose Psychology 101 is perhaps the largest undergraduate course in the country (attracting about 1,000 students every semester). He was won numerous teaching awards. In 1994, Mr. Maas was called before Cornell's "Professional Ethics Committee" to defend himself against charges of sexual harassment. The allegations centered around his "overly friendly and affectionate behavior" - which, it turns out, were hugs and occasional social kisses, most often in front of class or family.

The most notable example of a professor who stood …

Myths And Moms: Images Of Women And Termination Of Parental Rights, Odeana R. Neal

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For most of us, the word "mother" evokes a myriad of often conflicting images and emotions, expectations and disappointments, and gratitude and blame. What a mother is - our own mothers and the class of people who are mothers - means much more than that a woman has given birth. We expect mothers to provide their children with all the love, caring, nurturing, and emotional fulfillment that we perceive those children need and desire; we expect her to be all things that we want her to be when we need her to be them. A woman who can fulfill the …

Legal Protection For Victims Of Domestic Violence: A Guide For The Treating Physician, Jane C. Murphy

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No abstract provided.

Recognizing Violence Against Women: Gender And The Hate Crimes Statistics Act, Elizabeth Pendo

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This article argues that acts of gender-based violence should be recognized under the Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990, and that certain types of violence against women, such as rape, are fundamentally gender-based. Part I examines the existing definition of hate crimes under the HCSA, and the exclusion of the majority of violence against women. Part II suggests gender should be included as a category under the HCSA because of the similar effects of violence directed at women due to gender, and violence directed at members of other groups because of their group identity. Using acquaintance rape as an example, …

A Unified Approach To Causation In Disparate Treatment Cases: Using Sexual Harassment By Supervisors As The Causal Nexus For The Discriminatory Motivating Factor In Mixed Motive Cases, Margaret E. Johnson

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This Comment examines a unified approach for disparate treatment mixed motives claims paired with sexual harassment claims under Title VII. The Author argues that because of the policy for nondiscriminatory and desegregated work environments embodied in Title VII, and because of the documented harm resulting from sexual harassment, courts should allow the burden of proof to shift to the defendant if the plaintiff demonstrates that her supervisor sexually harassed her, or condoned the harassment, and that the harassing supervisor made an employment decision that was adverse to her.

Domestic Violence Law Poses Challenges For The Courts, Jane C. Murphy, Judith Wolfer

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No abstract provided.

Equality And Abortion: Legitimating Women's Experiences, Sarah K. Harding

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No abstract provided.

Feminism Awry: Excesses In The Pursuit Of Rights And Trifles, Kenneth Lasson

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Perhaps it is best to begin with the positive. From virtually any perspective, liberal and conservative feminists in the twentieth century have improved the quality of life for many women in a number of noteworthy ways. They have helped win the right to vote, to own property, to make contracts, to serve on juries, to use contraceptives.

They have succeeded in asserting the need for enhanced economic opportunities: equal pay for equal work, maternity leave, flex-time for mothers. They have made significant advancements against both domestic battery and sexual harassment in the workplace. As a consequence of all these efforts, …

Justice Brennan's Gender Jurisprudence, Rebecca Korzec

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During his thirty-four year tenure on the Supreme Court, Justice William Joseph Brennan, Jr. demonstrated unparalleled sensitivity to the protection of individual rights. Justice Brennan's landmark opinions included Baker v. Carr, Goldberg v. Kelly, and New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. before Brennan, Supreme Court jurisprudence exalted judicial passivity by employing techniques for avoiding constitutional issues, such as abstention, comity, exhaustion of remedies and the political question doctrine.

Against this background, Brennan became an active judicial voice in a series of innovative landmark cases, including decisions requiring federal officials to pay damages for violation of citizens' constitutional rights; authorizing federal …

Comment, Contracting For Security: Paying Married Women What They've Earned, Katharine K. Baker

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No abstract provided.

Gender Dynamics And Jury Deliberations (Student Note), Nancy S. Marder

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No abstract provided.

Civil Liberties For Homosexuals: The Law In Limbo, Kenneth Lasson

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This article will examine the recent surge in litigation arising from assertions by homosexuals of their constitutional rights - cases that reflect the law in flux and conflict - and will demonstrate that both constitutional principles and social philosophy generally require resolution of the conflicts in favor of equality, without regard to sexual preference.