A study commissioned by the New York City Bar Association and released in late September found that large law firms are three times more likely to promote men to partnership positions than women. Alarmingly, the difference in promotion rates occurs even though firms hire both sexes in roughly equal numbers. Women’s numbers among partnership positions increased steadily until 1990, but then began to decrease. At that time law firm business took a downward turn and women bore the brunt of lost promotio n opportunities. For first-year associates hired after 1981, women’s promotion rate fell from 15.25 percent to five percent.
You can order the report from the bar association’s publications office at (212) 382-6600.
