Females, People of Color Underrepresented in Law Firms: ABA
Recently released American Bar Association data show that women and people of color made only minimal gains in joining law firm ranks over the past decade.
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Recently released American Bar Association (ABA) figures show that women and people of color made only minimal gains in joining law firm ranks over the past decade, reports Bloomberg News. The percentage of women lawyers increased to 37 percent in 2021 from 33 percent in 2011, according to the ABA’s 2021 Profile of the Legal Profession. Black and Native American representation in the legal industry decreased slightly in the last 10 years, while Hispanic and Asian lawyers gained less than a percentage point each. Multiracial people made up 2 percent of all lawyers, and Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders comprised 0.3 percent.
Women were also more likely than men to be disrupted by family and home obligations during the pandemic, the report said, and 14 percent of women said they took on more childcare during the pandemic compared to 5 percent of men. Miami has the highest percentage of law firm partners of color at 32 percent. Pittsburgh has the lowest percentage at 3 percent.
