“Are you the court reporter?”
“Are you waiting for your attorney?”
These innocent-sounding questions point to a continuing issue in our profession: Your gender, age and race shape others’ impressions of you, before you even have a chance to speak. I’ve heard both these questions throughout the course of my career, from office staff, other lawyers and court staff. At this point in my career, I’m comfortable enough that I can shrug it off and explain that, no, I’m actually the attorney. This may not be as easy for younger attorneys, particularly if those questions were asked within earshot of their clients.
During Women’s History Month I thought I would take a moment to reflect upon an issue that women in the legal profession deal with much too frequently—microaggressions. At this point, we all should be aware of the phrase and examples of them. There are gender microaggressions, race or ethnic microaggressions, religious microaggressions, and so forth.
Several members of the State Bar of Arizona’s Bar Leadership Institute’s 2020-21 class wrote an article in this issue titled “Death by a Thousand Cuts.” It provides an in-depth analysis of microaggressions, specifically in the legal community. I encourage everyone to read this amazing article to better understand not just what microaggressions are but how to avoid making them—and there are even tips on how to respond to them. (You can also read more about the Bar Leadership Institute here.)
First impressions, and the demotion
Everyone understands that first impressions are important. As noted above, in the legal profession, microaggressions in the form of questions that fail to recognize someone as a lawyer continue to be very common.
I want to be clear that I respect court reporters and I am amazed at their ability and profession, but that is not my profession. I went to law school and took the bar to become a lawyer, and yet I am often assumed to be one of these other professions simply because of my gender.
It is just as often clients who mistake you for office staff rather than the attorney who is representing them, so another person making that same wrong assumption feels like an even bigger blow. For these attorneys it can be hard to regain your confidence when another law office, often opposing counsel’s office, has demoted you at first glance.
Innocuous comments about high-pitched voice, about being aggressive, about gender, or about being “articulate” can be microaggressions.
Be cognizant that innocuous comments about high-pitched voice, comments about being aggressive, comments about gender, or comments about being “articulate” can be microaggressions.
The problem of not being recognized as an attorney is not a problem that white men report having, but eight out of 10 women report experiencing it. An ABA study from 2018 indicated that 81 percent of women said they were mistaken for a lower-level employee, which did not hold true for their male counterparts.
This is not unique to the legal profession. Women in male-dominated fields are often mistaken for lower-level employees, whereas men in women-dominated fields are mistaken for higher-level employees. The feeling of constantly having to prove who you are is draining. We all can and should work to do better, because microaggressions pile up over time and become exhausting.
A small change with a big impact
We make judgments about people we meet every day. Those judgments often have to do with what has become normal to us, what we see most often. However, in 2022, no one who practices law or works in a law office can claim that they do not know that a significant percentage of lawyers are female (more than one-third, according to the reported State Bar demographics). While it is understandable that we do not always know every person involved in a case, it is not an excuse for you or your staff’s behavior. Rather than asking the first woman to arrive at the deposition if she is the court reporter, ask what her role is, or simply who she is. This little change can significantly alter the working experience for a significant percentage of the legal community. Small, empathetic changes can have a big impact.
