Tag Archive for: Women leaders

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Action Step – INCREASING GENDER PARITY WITH CONSISTENCY & INTENTIONALITY

The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center. 

Our 2024 New Partner Report demonstrates concerning results.  The 41.6% share of women in the 2024 new partner class represents a nearly 2% decline from last year’s figure of 43.3%.  Further, we saw declines across AmLaw 50, 100, and 200 firms, a nearly 3% increase in the gap in the share of new women partners compared to the share of women associates, and a reduction in the new partner class size by an average of 1.3 partners.  These data points demonstrate consistency in the reduced share of women in new partner classes across firm sizes, a pipeline challenge at the top, the shrinking of the overall pool of advancement opportunities, and a boomerang effect over the years pointing to the volatility of women promotions.

On a more positive note, we did see certain bright spots.  Notably, member firms had an average of 1.6% higher share of women partners in their U.S. new partner classes over the last five years.  In addition, a nearly 13% increase existed in the share of firms reporting a 50/50 split or greater in favor of women in U.S. new partner classes over the last two years.  We also saw a 2% decrease in the share of firms with no women partners from last year.  These bright spots suggest that a number of law firms are making concerted, intentional efforts to address gender imbalances during the partnership promotion process.

Firms need to adopt an intentional, structured and data-driven approach to make consistent progress with gender parity at the top.  The Alliance encourages organizations to leverage the data and recommendations from our 2024 New Partner Report along with specific practices discussed with top Talent & DEI leaders from firms with consistent progress regarding gender parity at our 2024 New Partner Summit.

Members: Continue reading this Action Step in the Member Resource Center

To read this entire Action Step become a member of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance. To learn more contact Manar Morales.

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51 Law Firms Recognized for “Tipping the Scales” on Women in New Partner Class

2019 New Partner Report Released

Washington, DC – November 8, 2019 – Yesterday, during the Diversity and Flexibility Alliance’s Annual Conference, fifty-one law firms were recognized for having 50% or more women in their 2019 U.S.-based new partner class. The firms, recognized as “Tipping the Scales,” were identified through the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance’s New Partner Report, a compilation of public data and self-reported sources released each year for the past eight years. The Report revealed that 41.3 percent of new partners in 138 major U.S. law firms in 2019 were women, surpassing last year’s mark by 2.4 percentage points. The Executive Summary is publicly available here.

PHOTO: Representatives from major law firms pose with Manar Morales, President & CEO of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance, after receiving their “Tipping the Scales” Recognition at the Alliance’s 2019 Annual Conference in Washington, DC on November 7, 2019. Photo Credit: Birch Thomas (photosbybirch.com).

The “Tipping the Scales” firms recognized for having 50% or more women in their 2019 new partner class included:

1.     Akerman

2.     Alston & Bird

3.     Arent Fox

4.     Arnold & Porter

5.     Ballard Spahr

6.     Boies Schiller Flexner

7.     Bracewell

8.     Cahill Gordon & Reindel

9.     Cravath, Swaine & Moore

10. Crowell & Moring

11. Davis Polk & Wardwell

12. Davis Wright Tremaine

13. Debevoise & Plimpton

14. Dentons

15. Dickinson Wright

16. Drinker Biddle & Reath

17. Duane Morris

18. Epstein Becker & Green

 

 19. Eversheds Sutherland

20. Fenwick & West

21. Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy

22. Gibbons

23. Goodwin Procter

24. Goldberg Kohn

25. Hogan Lovells

26. Jackson Lewis

27. Jones Day

28. K&L Gates

29. Lathrop Gage

30. Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith

31. Littler Mendelson

32. Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

33. McGuireWoods

34. Miles & Stockbridge

35. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

 

 36. Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart

37. O’Melveny & Myers

38. Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein

39. Perkins Coie

40. Polsinelli

41. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan

42. Schiff Hardin

43. Seyfarth Shaw

44. Shook, Hardy & Bacon

45. Shutts & Bowen

46. Thompson & Knight

47. Van Ness Feldman

48. White & Case

49. Williams & Connolly

50. Wolf Greenfield

51. Womble Bond Dickinson

 

The 2019 New Partner Report also found that the percentage of women promoted to partnership in major U.S. law firms has increased by 8.1 percent since 2012. Additionally, a larger share of firms have attained a 50/50 split or greater of women in the new partner class than in previous years. The fifty-one firms with 50% or more women in their 2019 new partner class represented 37% of the firms in the study. This is an increase from the 2018 figure of 31.3% and also represents a significant increase over previous years.

“We are encouraged to see the overall increase in the percentage of women in new partner classes in 2019 and are thrilled to recognize those firms that are “Tipping the Scales,” said Manar Morales, President & CEO of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance. “Despite this progress, we continue to recognize the need for firms to commit to a more intentional and proactive strategy to retain and advance women.”

The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance’s New Partner Report is a yearly compilation of data from more than 100 (138 this year) of the nation’s largest and top-grossing law firms examining the gender breakdown of attorneys promoted to partnership in their U.S. offices. The data is based upon publicly available firm announcements and other self-reported sources on new partner classes with an effective date of promotion between October 1, 2018 and September 30, 2019.

The Diversity and Flexibility Alliance is a think tank that collaborates with organizations to develop non-stigmatized flexible work policies that promote inclusive work cultures and help to advance more women into leadership positions. The Alliance provides practical research-based solutions, training workshops, and strategic advisory services that increase organizational effectiveness through diversity and flexibility.

 

Contact Manar Morales at 202-957-9650 or manar@dfalliance.com for more information.