WOMEN IN THE LAW:
- 1 December 1993
- journal article
- other
- Published by SAGE Publications in Gender & Society
- Vol. 7 (4) , 582-593
- https://doi.org/10.1177/089124393007004007
Abstract
Research on the entry of women into occupational settings confirms the importance of the structural composition of the workplace insofar as women are treated as tokens. This study examines women lawyers in terms of three consequences of tokenism: visibility, polarization, and stereotyping. The results from a survey of lawyers in southern Arizona (N = 112) indicate support for the theory of tokenism. Women are more likely than men to report hearing sexist jokes and remarks, to be referred to by their first names, to be asked whether they are lawyers, and to receive compliments about their appearance rather than their achievements. These results highlight important gender differences in legal careers; it remains to be seen whether changes in women's numerical representation alone will be sufficient for changing the relations between dominants and tokens in legal workplaces.Keywords
This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
- Tokenism and Women in the Workplace: The Limits of Gender-Neutral TheorySocial Problems, 1988
- Women in LawHarvard Law Review, 1984
- Some Effects of Proportions on Group Life: Skewed Sex Ratios and Responses to Token WomenAmerican Journal of Sociology, 1977