Ouch - Minorty women screwed at firms...

[jfields32]

Right, what law firm isn't looking for ways to increase minorities at all levels of the firm these days? The results of this 'study' are partially a byproduct af AA in law school admissions accepting lesser qualified applicants, and then those applicants being hired upon graduation just because they went to a top school and are a female minority. And it is just plain hard for anyone to move up at a law firm and get good assignments, not just minority women. How many leave to have children? How many leave on their own accord?    

That's true, but that doesn't justify further increasing the difficulty for these female lawyers at a chance for advancement

Not only that, but some of the other things going on at those firms are things that are so blatantly racist I would think "leaving on their own accord" would be a little tainted.  How easy would it really be to stay if one of the partners at your firm left a message on your voice mail "speaking gibberish, trying to sound like an Asian speaker."  I got that kind of phone call from drunken frat boys when I was in college.  I certainly wouldn't expect to have to deal with it from a colleague in an educated profession.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5613964

Where did you go to school?

I went to Washington and Lee University.  (And I graduated a while ago, so.. grains of salt all around.)

It's not that behavior like this was necessarily an every-day occurrence, but it happened frequently enough to make an impression.  Don't get me wrong, I love W&L for everything it gave me and I think it was really only a handful of seriously misguided students who had racist/ignorant leanings.  I also think this kind of problem, not just for Asians but for most (if not all) minority groups on campus, is fairly common nationwide.  Not even blatantly offensive acts like that necessarily, just a pervading cultural stigma or exclusion or something.  After a while I decided it was mostly a symptom of those few classmates never having interacted with "different" people before.  I had never really dealt with people like them either so.. it was a learning experience for us both. 

W&L is one of the most racist places i have ever been. My visit there really opened up my eyes.  I was like they had never seen a person of color before. Even the other bball players treated me like i was some ghetto child, they even had the nerve to leave me in lexington during the middle of the night. And to me being in Lexington at night, is scarier too me than camdem or philly. Minorities stay away from this place if you have any other choice.

[mantis]

W&L is one of the most racist places i have ever been. My visit there really opened up my eyes.  I was like they had never seen a person of color before. Even the other bball players treated me like i was some ghetto child, they even had the nerve to leave me in lexington during the middle of the night. And to me being in Lexington at night, is scarier too me than camdem or philly. Minorities stay away from this place if you have any other choice.

It has taken me a while to figure out how I want to respond to this... I'm also a non-white person and so I feel a degree of kinship with other non-white people in that regard.  However, I went to Washington and Lee and while I wouldn't say that my experience was 100% awesome/pleasant/perfect/etc., I feel like I need to defend it...

I agree, there are students there who come from a sheltered, ignorant place.  At times this can come off as overt racism.  At the same time... there are two potential factors that at least deserve consideration in dealing with those people.  One, I honestly believe that a lot of these people really HAVEN'T ever seen a person of color before.  I mean, not in a literal sense (surely they've SEEN Condi Rice or Alberto Gonzales or whomever) but in a real sense of interacting with that person on a regular basis.  And two, It's easy for me to say, "Well, they should just get over it and treat me like a person," when I have no idea what kind of background is informing their behavior.  From what I gather from a fair share of my classmates, it's not uncommon for an older generation of southerners to have certain attitudes about people of color.  They attempt to pass this down to their children or grandchildren and, not having interacted with anyone to tell them any different, those children go on to believe it.

I'm not trying to defend people who then use this as an excuse to hate, merely trying to offer an explanation.

I would never suggest that someone go to Washington and Lee if they weren't ready to deal with a fair share of ignorance and - potentially - racism.  However, if you're strong enough and willing enough and... whatever.. I feel like it's critical for more people of color and white allies to go to schools like Washington and Lee.  Most of the students there really are open to other perspectives if you can figure out a way of communicating with them.  I would never deny that part of my experience there was miserable, but I learned a lot and I think I taught a lot too.  I don't know.  I feel like we can't just get to a place, say, "this isn't how it should be" and then leave and hope it gets better on its own. 

[->Soon]

http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/14/news/companies/pepsico_ceo/index.htm?cnn=yes

this lady made it.  and PepsiCo is HUGE...

[->Soon]

Sheila Johnson, who co-founded Black Entertainment Television (BET) and became the first black American woman billionaire.

wow, i didnt know that!  you go girl!!!!

[pikey]

Sheila Johnson, who co-founded Black Entertainment Television (BET) and became the first black American woman billionaire.

wow, i didnt know that!  you go girl!!!!

She co-founded it with her husband.  Not to knock her acheivement, but it's not like she had to break through the glass ceiling when he was the company's 'front man'.

[->Soon]

Sheila Johnson, who co-founded Black Entertainment Television (BET) and became the first black American woman billionaire.

wow, i didnt know that!  you go girl!!!!

She co-founded it with her husband.  Not to knock her acheivement, but it's not like she had to break through the glass ceiling when he was the company's 'front man'.

Oh.

but still, im sure she helped.

[pikey]

Sheila Johnson, who co-founded Black Entertainment Television (BET) and became the first black American woman billionaire.

wow, i didnt know that!  you go girl!!!!

She co-founded it with her husband.  Not to knock her acheivement, but it's not like she had to break through the glass ceiling when he was the company's 'front man'.

Oh.

but still, im sure she helped.

Of course she helped.  When it comes to the 'glass ceiling', competency is very rarely the issue.  It comes down to opportunity.  She had the opportunity because people were willing to deal with a man (her husband).  Most women are not given the same opportunities as man (the 'good' deals, networking opps, etc), which limits their career success.

[->Soon]

perhas the chickie boos will have the last laugh after all.

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/departments/adultlearning/?article=CollegeWoman&GT1=8432

just rememebr, I love women!

[h2xblive]

perhas the chickie boos will have the last laugh after all.

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/departments/adultlearning/?article=CollegeWoman&GT1=8432

just rememebr, I love women!

I'm excited about women running things.

[->Soon]

lawyer babes

http://www.slate.com/id/2148649/