Law, Justice, and Society: A Sociolegal Introduction

1. Law, Justice, and Society:A Sociolegal Introduction Chapter 11 Women and the Law

2. Women and the Law Feminist Jurisprudence Examining the law through a feminist perspective Perseverance of patriarchy (rule of the father) Split by two debates: Reformist/Radicalist Sameness/Difference

3. Women and the Law Reformist/Radicalist Reformist: Want current system to recognize females as equals Radicalist: Need new system, current one is too corrupted by patriarchy

4. Women and the Law Sameness/Difference Sameness: Men and women as equal Difference: Must recognize obvious differences between men and women and accommodate them

5. Women and the Law Greek ambivalent earth goddess creator soon male gods assumed rational role Homer (800 BCE) Plato and Aristotle Athens vs Sparta in general, laws were repressive

6. Women and the Law Roman Cicero Twelve Tables of Roman Law women were minors of their fathers or husbands Medieval Europe�Feudal system subjugated state supported by church theology �natural state� ordained by god

7. Women and the Law Renaissance women seen as virtuous and not worldly laws kept women in the home to protect them Sixteenth century Protestant faiths reinforced concept of domestic patriarchy men were sovereign rulers in politics and home

8. Women and the Law Thomas Hobbes and John Locke concede some rights to women still subordinate to men in all matters women invisible from political writers (including Rousseau) Wollstonecraft argued that women would not be inferior if given the same opportunities as men

9. Women and the Law Women have only incrementally accrued rights throughout the nineteenth century De jure importance of law for economic class diminished first in 1820s and 1830s De jure importance of race/ethnicity was diminished next during the 1860s De facto rights concerning race/ethnicity were accorded only during the 1960s

10. Women and the Law De jure importance of gender was attended to last Right to vote in 1920 Rights were not substantially expanded on until the 1970s Therefore, a rich white man was valued most by the law and a poor minority women was valued the least�though not de jure, still may exist in cultural psyche

11. Women and the Law Women have been legally and culturally considered to be property (Coverture) As property, a woman can be bought, sold, replaced, traded, etc., whenever convenient If women follow these cultural mores, they are �madonnas�; if they do not, they are �whores� Gage�s explanation of the witch hunts

12. Women and the Law Laws historically focused on property rights of males Women were often considered complicit in rape and punished Brownmiller�s history of rape Petite Treason in England Women still punished for adultery today in some countries

13. Women and the Law Efforts to secure legal standing for women throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Europe and the US have been conditioned by sexist views The US founding fathers paid little attention to pleas of their wives to allow women the vote Slaves sexually exploited by masters Women given the right to vote in WY and UT territories, and their subsequent states Women given the right to vote in CO and ID Rest of the country waited until 1920�Nineteenth Amendment

14. Women and the Law 1872�Susan B. Anthony and 14 women were on trial for illegally voting Found guilty when the judge instructed the jury to do so The judge did not make her pay her fine or serve time Her attorney bailed her out of jail Why did they do this?

15. Women and the Law International Women Suffrage Conference in 1902 in Washington, D.C. organized by Elizabeth Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Carrie Chapman Catt 5 countries sent delegates next meeting was in 1904 in Berlin Declaration of Principles Major result of conference was creation of the International Women�s Suffrage Alliance

16. Women and the Law Other rights denied women during the 1920s, 1930s enslavement sold for marriage/prostitution right to deal with property and earnings arranged marriages mothers had lesser rights than fathers less education and training work role restricted to traditional role, and paid less holding public office

17. Women and the Law Rights were gained through grassroots feminist work First wave of feminism achieved voting rights Second wave focused on other basic rights property education employment male violence against women and children Role of the USSC

18. Women and the Law UNCEFDW�Passed by UN in 1979 ERA�In a state of limbo since it did not have the requisite ratification requirements Passage of the ERA would secure rights in constitution

19. Women and the Law Article 11 of the United Nations� Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women _____________________________________________________________________ 1. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights, in particular: (a) The right to work as an inalienable right of all human beings; (b) The right to the same employment opportunities, including the application of the same criteria for selection in matters of employment; (c) The right to free choice of profession and employment, the right to promotion, job security and all benefits and conditions of service and the right to receive vocational training and retraining, including apprenticeships, advanced vocational training and recurrent training; (d) The right to equal remuneration, including benefits, and to equal treatment in respect of work of equal value, as well as equality of treatment in the evaluation of the quality of work; (e) The right to social security, particularly in cases of retirement, unemployment, sickness, invalidity and old age and other incapacity to work, as well as the right to paid leave; (f) The right to protection of health and to safety in working conditions, including the safeguarding of the function of reproduction. 2. In order to prevent discrimination against women on the grounds of marriage or maternity and to ensure their effective right to work, States Parties shall take appropriate measures: (a) To prohibit, subject to the imposition of sanctions, dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy or of maternity leave and discrimination in dismissals on the basis of marital status; (b) To introduce maternity leave with pay or with comparable social benefits without loss of former employment, seniority or social allowances; (c) To encourage the provision of the necessary supporting social services to enable parents to combine family obligations with work responsibilities and participation in public life, in particular through promoting the establishment and development of a network of child-care facilities; (d) To provide special protection to women during pregnancy in types of work proved to be harmful to them. 3. Protective legislation relating to matters covered in this article shall be reviewed periodically in the light of scientific and technological knowledge and shall be revised, repealed or extended as necessary. _______________________________________________________________________

20. Women and the Law Social barriers have kept women from working in the law However, women have historically participated in law to some limited degree throughout US history Margaret Brent Elizabeth Freeman Lucy Terry Prince Women were excluded from clerkships, the ordinary means of entering the legal profession

21. Women and the Law Exclusionary underpinnings were the beliefs that feminine characteristics were not suited for the practice of law, and a woman�s place was in the home Women viewed as lacking logical capacity Accused of being overly subjective and emotional Women were not full citizens, and so it would be paradoxical for them to practice law

22. Women and the Law Exceptions: Arabella Babb Mansfield and Myra Bradwell passed in the bar in 1869 Bradwell v. Illinois 1873 Lemma Barkloo and Phoebe Cousins admitted to Washington University law school in 1869 Ada Kepley graduated from University of Chicago Law School in 1870

23. Women and the Law Charlotte Ray, first African American woman admitted to the bar in 1872 Robert Morris, first African American man appointed as magistrate judge in Boston in 1852 Esther Morris, white woman, appointed as justice of the peace in a mining camp in Wyoming in 1870

24. Women and the Law 1920 until women were allowed on all state bars; 1928 until women were allowed to enter Columbia Law School; 1950 until women were allowed to enter Harvard Law School Law schools continued to discriminate against women

25. Women and the Law Discrimination tempered by 2nd wave of feminism Passage of Title VII Civil Rights Act of 1964 Passage of Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 Lack of bona fide occupational occupations in criminal justice systems Title IX of the Higher Education Act

26. Women and the Law More women applying for law school now than before Gendered experiences: men expect to work in a law firm or for a company more likely to submit to law review women expect to work for nonprofit or legal services feel less confident in their legal skills Female law professors are underrepresented Presidents more willing to appoint women to federal judgeships

27. Women and the Law Despite inroads, barriers are still apparent Women lawyers are underrepresented in judgeships, full partnerships in legal firms, law school faculty The �mommy track� effect Latent sexism Women outperform men in all educational tracks except law school differential treatment in school

28. Women and the Law Still, there are more similarities in experiences than differences Job satisfaction Job value Attitudes about punishment issues and defendants Variance explained by promotional opportunities

29. Women and the Law Women defendants and litigants face an uphill battle Manifest in the perceptions and practices of court- room actors Domestic violence Sexual assault Divorce Treatment of female attorneys and judges Custody discrimination against men

30. Women and the Law The law is androcentric, and therefore female victims of male crimes will be viewed through masculine lenses (Smart 1989) Also, as more women enter the workforce, feminine traits such as cooperation and support will make inroads against masculine traits of adversity and competition (Gilligan 1982)