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Virtual Engagement Session | A Brighter Path for Women Lawyers: 20 Years of Partnership between the U.S. and Latin America
Background
The lack of gender equity is a significant barrier in the legal profession, hindering recruitment, advancement, retention, and overall job satisfaction for women worldwide. While the gender balance in law firms has gradually improved in recent years, global statistics still show stark discrepancies, as seen in the National Association for Law Placement’s 2023 diversity report and the International Bar Association’s recent country reports and 50:50 gender parity project.
This continued gender disparity is a pervasive challenge that affects the global legal profession at all levels. Addressing it in a meaningful way requires concerted, intentional efforts to promote equity and inclusivity.
In 2006, an initiative of the New York City Bar Association produced a report on best practices to address the unequal gender representation of lawyers in senior positions within law firms. Spurred into action by the report, members of the Vance Center Committee started working with partners in our international pro bono network to open dialogues on this issue at the regional level. The conversations led to hosting conferences across Latin America to discuss how to tailor these best practices to address the specific challenges faced by women in different countries.
What started as a series of discussions has grown into our Women in Profession (WIP) Program. WIP now comprises 19 national chapters in Latin America, four in Sub-Saharan Africa, and one in the United States, reflecting the Vance Center’s continued commitment to promoting gender equity in the legal profession worldwide.
Our Speakers
- Licy Benzaquen, Partner, Estudio Olaechea, Member of WIP Perú
- Natalia García Arenas, Partner, Gómez-Pinzón, Member of WIP Colombia
- Patricia Menéndez-Cambo, Independent Consultant, Member of WIP International Steering Committee and Vance Center Committee
- Antonia Stolper, Of Counsel, A&O Shearman, Member of WIP International Steering Committee and Vance Center Committee
Key Takeaways
Women in the Profession is unique in its focus on cross-national collaboration. Each chapter undertakes initiatives tailored to their specific countries, while also benefiting from a connected network of equally motivated chapters that share best practices, tools, and key insights. While the chapters lead their own efforts, the Vance Center plays an invaluable role in providing support, showing up for chapter activities, and drawing further attention to the chapters’ work. WIP’s approach is far from top-down; rather, it’s about working alongside colleagues in various countries to mutually support each other’s growth.
Open communication and the free exchange of information between chapters are crucial to WIP’s success and ongoing growth, and there is plenty of it among the chapters. For instance, leaders in Latin America engaged extensively with African women lawyers as they started to set up chapters, leading to four active WIP chapters in sub-Saharan Africa so far, with more in development.
Even though some chapters have been around for many years, they continue to draw high enthusiasm from members. In Peru, for example, Licy explained that the chapter has nearly 1,000 members and is actively working to raise awareness about WIP’s initiatives in universities, by making contact with younger, early-career individuals – both women and men. Recently, some founding members have stepped back to allow for new leadership and Licy emphasized the value of their continued guidance and participation as the chapter evolves.
Looking ahead, we aim to engage more general counsels in this work, expand WIP’s presence in Sub-Saharan Africa, and explore setting up chapters in the U.S. Many major cities in the U.S. are hubs where legal professionals come together; recognizing this helped spur the creation of WIP Miami. This presents a crucial opportunity to continue to align efforts in the U.S. and encourage individual firms to support their colleagues in regional offices and the global legal profession.
As one attendee noted, as firms increase their rosters of women partners, it’s also essential that WIP chapters start to collaborate with firms and companies to enhance workplace standards and conditions that help women stay, and thrive, in these roles. Women encounter various obstacles in these positions, from gender stereotypes to caregiving responsibilities. For WIP’s efforts to be successful, we must help establish a stronger framework for retention and growth.
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About Our Work
The Vance Center’s mission is to advance global justice by engaging lawyers across borders to support civil society and an ethically active legal profession. Women in the Profession is central to this mission, as it not only helps reduce barriers to a more diverse legal field but also provides opportunities for chapter members to get involved the Vance Center’s pro bono legal work. We adopt a holistic approach to mobilizing lawyers—supporting their professional growth within their firms and individual careers while welcoming them into a network of lawyers dedicated to working on our core issue areas: human rights and access to justice, the environment, institutional integrity, and public interest reporting.
To stay up to date on WIP activities, follow your national chapter on social media and sign up to receive the quarterly WIP bulletin here.
More on Women in the Profession
Your support for the Vance Center will help us continue expanding this vital network for women lawyers. We’re looking ahead to setting up chapters in more countries, enhancing collaboration between chapters, and providing consistent, reliable support for their growth and sustainability.