A book by Dr. Tsedale M. Melaku explores the ways in which Black women face gender and racial discrimination when pursuing careers at elite law firms.
On Wednesday evening, the Center for the Study of Women and Society at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center hosted a book salon at which Melaku, a sociologist, discussed her book, You Don’t Look Like a Lawyer: Black Women and Systemic Gendered Racism. While the book focuses on attorneys, it presents issues all Black professional women navigate as they pursue careers that have traditionally been held by White men.
Melaku began by reading some crucial portions of her book, in which Black female attorneys describe their experiences trying to find mentors and sponsors in unwelcoming environments. They found it almost impossible to organically develop mentor or sponsor relationships with their firms’ White male partners. And they often found themselves shut out of networking and professional development opportunities. One attorney is quoted as saying the White male partners didn’t see Black female attorneys as bringing something of value to the firm.
After the reading, Melaku engaged in a conversation with Dr. Angie Beeman, associate professor of sociology at Baruch College. Melaku said that law firms have diversity pages on their websites, but when the actual numbers are examined, there are few attorneys of color.
“It allows people to talk around the issue without really talking about the issue,” said Melaku. “Where are the Black and Brown people in positions of power within the organizations? When you look at actual numbers, we don’t exist.”
Beeman mentioned how the issues presented in the book transfer to other White-dominated spaces, noting she has witnessed it in academia as well. Just like in law firms, in academia, Black female professors are expected to perform “invisible labor,” such as mentoring, but it is not valued, she said.
“Look at the Black women in your book,” said Beeman. They’re expected to do the mentorship. They’re expected to do the recruitment and retention and take on the extra hours, but there’s no reward.”
