American Bar Association Profile of the Legal Profession 2022
  • Home
  • Intro
  • Chapters
    • Judges
    • Demographics
    • Wages
    • Legal Education
    • Pro Bono
    • Women in the Legal Profession
    • Technology
    • Well-Being
    • Discipline
  • Contact Us
  • ABA Membership

WOMEN IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION

Chapter Outline

 
Demographics
Women in Law Firms
Women in Law Schools
Walking out the Door

Demographics

The percentage of female lawyers has slowly inched up in recent years, according to the ABA National Lawyer Population Survey, a tally of lawyers by licensing agencies in every state. In 2010, fewer than one-third of all lawyers (31%) were women. Twelve years later, in 2022, 38% of all lawyers were women.

 

The long-term trend is easier to see when viewed over the course of decades. The biggest growth in female lawyers came in the 1980s and ’90s. From 1950 to 1970, only 3% of all lawyers were women. The percentage increased to 8% in 1980, 20% in 1991 and 29% in 2000.

 

The trend is also apparent at law schools. The number of male students has declined every year for the past 11 years – from 78,516 in 2010 to 52,058 in 2021. Meanwhile, the number of female law school students has increased every year for the past five years – from 55,766 in 2016 to 64,861 in 2021. Women now significantly outnumber men in U.S. law schools, and the gap is widening. In 2021, there were 12,800 more female students than male students.

Women in the Legal Profession by Decade: 1951 - 2022
Women in the Legal Profession by Decade: 1951 - 2022

The number of female federal judges has increased dramatically. The first woman was appointed to the federal judiciary in 1928, when 217 men held that position. By 1950, there were still only three female federal judges. That rose to 46 in 1980. And by July 1, 2022, there were 424 women on the federal bench – nearly one-third of all federal judges (30%).

 

Women fare better in state Supreme Courts, where they make up 41% of all high-court justices, according to a 2022 survey by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. That’s nearly the same as the share of all lawyers who are women nationally: 38%.

 

Sources: ABA National Lawyer Population Survey; American Bar Foundation Lawyer Statistical Reports; ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar
Women in the Legal Profession: 2010 - 2022
Women in the Legal Profession: 2010 - 2022

 

Sources: Federal Judicial Center; Brennan Center for Justice

Women in Law Firms

Although more than half of all law school graduates are women, the number of women in senior leadership roles at U.S. law firms is far less than half – even with the number slowly edging up in recent years.

 

About 22% of all equity partners were female in 2020, according to the National Association of Women Lawyers. The number has risen every year since 2012, when it was 15%. Female lawyers are found in greater numbers at lower levels in the law firm hierarchy. Nearly half of all associates (47%) were women in 2020, as were nearly a third of all non-equity partners (32%).

 

Women also held only a small percentage of law firm leadership jobs in 2020. They were 12% of managing partners, 28% of governance committee members and 27% of practice group leaders, according to the NAWL.

Female Equity Partners: 2006 - 2020
Female Equity Partners: 2006 - 2020
Women in Law Firm Leadership Roles: 2020
Women in Law Firm Leadership Roles: 2020
Women in Law Firms: 2020
Women in Law Firms: 2020

Law firm pay for women almost caught up to pay for men among associates and non-equity partners in 2020, but a sizable gap still existed at the highest levels. In 2020, female associates and female non-equity partners received, on average, 95% of the compensation of their male counterparts. But among equity partners, women received just 78% of the compensation of men, on average.

 

There were virtually no women among the very highest-compensated law firm attorneys in 2020. Only 2% of law firms said their highest-paid attorney is female – and that number actually dropped from 8% in 2005.

 

Source: National Association of Women Lawyers 2021 Survey Report
Compensation of Female Lawyers as a Percentage of Compensation of Male Lawyers: 2020
Compensation of Female Lawyers as a Percentage of Compensation of Male Lawyers: 2020
Gender of Highest-Paid Attorney In the Firm: 2005 - 2020
Gender of Highest-Paid Attorney In the Firm: 2005 - 2020

Women in Law Schools

Women make up a majority of law school students in the United States: 55.3% in 2021. That’s up from 48.4% in 2000.

 

Women achieved majority status in ABA-accredited law schools only recently. The first time first-year female students outnumbered first-year male students was in 2014. Two years later, in 2016, women made up a majority of all students in law schools for the first time.

 

Here’s another way of looking at the gender trend in law schools: In 2021, nearly five times as many law schools had female majorities (162 law schools) versus those with male majorities (33 law schools). And at five law schools in 2021 (Northeastern, Howard, North Carolina Central, Florida A&M and American), women outnumbered men by a 2-to-1 ratio.

 

The change came slowly over several decades. In 1963, only 4% of first-year law students were female, rising to 20% in 1973, 39% in 1983 and 44% by 1993.

 

Source: ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar
Women as a Percentage of All Law Students: 2000 - 2021
Women as a Percentage of All Law Students: 2000 - 2021

More women than ever are also leading U.S. law schools. In 2000, only 10% of law school deans were women. By 2009, the percentage of female deans rose to 21%.
And as of July 1, 2022, 43% of all law school deans were women, according to Rosenblatt’s Deans Database at the Mississippi College School of Law.

 

Sources: Walking Out the Door, 2019, ABA and ALM Intelligence
Female Law School Deans: 2000 - 2022
Female Law School Deans: 2000 - 2022
Women in the Legal Profession by Decade: 1951 - 2022
Women in the Legal Profession by Decade: 1951 - 2022

Walking out the Door

Male and female lawyers strongly disagree on how well their law firms foster long-term careers for women. That is one conclusion from a study published in October 2019 by the ABA and ALM Intelligence, which explored why experienced female lawyers are leaving law firms. The report, “Walking Out the Door,” includes results from a survey of more than 1,200 senior lawyers at the nation’s biggest private law firms.

Generally, men thought their law firms treated women fairly, but women disagreed. For example, the vast majority of men (88%) said gender diversity is widely acknowledged as a firm priority. Barely half of women (54%) agreed. Also, nearly 3 out of 4 men (74%) said their law firms successfully retained experienced women. Less than half of women (47%) agreed.

How Men and Women View Law Firm Policies
(% who said yes)
How Men and Women View Law Firm Policies (% who said yes)

The survey also revealed that half of all female lawyers (50%) said they experienced unwanted sexual conduct at work, and 1 in 4 women said they avoided reporting sexual harassment due to fear of retaliation. One in six female lawyers (16%) said they lost work opportunities as a result of rebuffing sexual advances.

 

Finally, the women surveyed said caretaking commitments are the No. 1 reason (58%) why experienced female lawyers leave their law firms, followed by stress at work (54%) and emphasis on marketing or originating business (51%).

 

Sources: Walking Out the Door, 2019, ABA and ALM Intelligence
Job Satisfaction (extremely or somewhat satisfied)
Job Satisfaction (extremely or somewhat satisfied)
Everyday Experiences Because of Gender
Everyday Experiences Because of Gender
Preface

Intro

Letter from the President of the American Bar Association
Acknowledgments

intro
Chapter 1

Judges

Diversity on the Federal Bench

New Federal Appointments

Diversity in State Supreme Courts

Chapter 2

Demographics

Growth of the Profession

Lawyers by State

Lawyers by Gender

Lawyers by Race and Ethnicity

Diversity in U.S. Law Firms

LGBT Lawyers

Lawyers with Disabilities

Age

Legal Demand in Metro Areas

Law Firm Leadership, Promotion and Attrition

Where Lawyers Work by Race and Ethnicity

Chapter 3

Wages

Wage Trends over 20 years

Average Lawyer Wages by Metropolitan Area

Law Firm Associates

Public Service Lawyers

Chapter 4

Legal Education

Law School Applicants and Enrollees

Why Law School?

Law School Demographics

Employment After Graduation

Bar Passage Rates

Law School Debt

Chapter 5

Pro Bono

This is the Intro block with descriptive text.

Chapter 6

Women

Women in Law Firms

Women in Law Schools

Walking Out the Door

Chapter 7

Technology

Security

Online Research

Social Media

Hardware and Software

Chapter 8

Well-Being

Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Women and Men

Law Students

Life and Practice

Judges

Chapter 9

Discipline

Public Discipline and Disbarment

Public Discipline by State

CHAPTERS
  • Intro
  • Judges
  • Demographics
  • Wages
  • Legal Education
  • Pro Bono
  • Women in the Profession
  • Technology
  • Well-Being
  • Discipline

 

Copyright
  • Terms of Use
  • Code of Conduct
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright and IP Policy
  • Advertising and Sponsorship
Chicago

American Bar Association

321 North Clark St.

Chicago, Ill 60654

Phone: (800) 285-2221

Website: americanbar.org

Email: Service@americanbar.org

     

Washington DC

American Bar Association

1050 Connecticut Ave. NW

Suite 400

Washington, D.C. 20036

Phone: (202) 662-1000