Women bring a different perspective to leading bar associations than men, and often get better results because of the inclusive atmosphere, said American Bar Association President Deborah Enix-Ross in the March 24 webinar “Celebrating Women’s Leadership,” sponsored by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession.
“It’s really important for this generation of men and women to see us, to see how we lead, to see that we lead differently ... and that collectively we are helping to move the legal profession forward,” she said, calling the group a “sisterhood.”
“When you look at this remarkable group of women, you understand the power of representation. We know that women leaders sometimes have had a challenging journey, and they bring that energy and that different perspective to everything that they do.”
The program was moderated by Commission Chair Maureen Mulligan, associate justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court, and included presidents from the National Bar Association, the National Association of Women Judges, the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, the National Native American Bar Association and the South Asian Bar Association of North America. It was held in honor of Women’s History Month.
Sharing stories about their backgrounds, some of the speakers said they were the first in their family to graduate from college, let alone law school. “I came from a very, very modest means background,” said Makalika Naholowa’a, president of the National Native American Bar Association. “When you look at indigenous communities as a whole … there are only about 3,500 Native lawyers across the entire country. So, it’s a very fortunate thing for a Native person to even be licensed to practice law.”
Though their paths varied, some said they rose through the ranks of their organization reluctantly. “I didn’t get into leadership thinking I would one day become president,” said Lonita Baker, president of the National Bar Association, which represents a network of predominantly Black American lawyers and judges. “That was never my goal. ... But my organization needed me.”
The group discussed the importance of mentoring young lawyers. “I think that as a community ... we need to take it upon ourselves to mentor women of color and also sponsor other women of color. And that is something that has to be done in order to improve our profession overall, and it’s sort of non-negotiable, in my view,” said Tara Raghaven, president of the South Asian Bar Association of North America.
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