Women and legal education
Unearthing the gender experiences of female students in law schools
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32674/090k8g19Keywords:
Gender bias, legal education, legal profession, patriarchy, IndiaAbstract
This paper examines the gendered experiences of female students in Indian law schools, highlighting the influence of societal norms and patriarchal expectations on their education and career choices. Despite the growing presence of national universities offering legal education, women continue to face significant challenges rooted in traditional gender roles. These societal pressures often dictate the professions deemed appropriate for women, reinforcing male-dominated norms and limiting their professional autonomy. Through an analysis of the experiences of female law students, this study sheds light on the structural barriers they encounter both within educational institutions and in broader society. The findings emphasize the need for systemic changes at the home, workplace, and societal levels to create a more equitable environment for women pursuing careers in law.
Downloads
References
Abel, R. (1988). Comparative sociology of legal professions: An explanatory essay. American Bar Foundation Research Journal. 10(1) Winter, 1-80.
Abel, R. L. (1985). Lawyers and the power to change. Law & Policy, 7(1), 5–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9930.1985.tb00339.x
Barnes, J. (1970). Women and entrance to the legal profession. Journal of Legal Education, 23(2), 276–308.
Brooks, A. (2007). Feminist standpoint epistemology. In S. N. Hesse-Biber & P. L. Leavy (Ed.), Feminist research practice: A primer (pp. 53-82). California Sage Publications.
Chakrabarti, S. (2022, October 20). Sexual Harassment and Redressal Mechanism in courts: Notes from West Bengal, The Wire, https://thewire.in/rights/sexual-harassment-and-redressal-mechanism-in-courts-notes-from-west-bengal
Collier, R. (2013). Rethinking men and masculinities in the contemporary legal profession: The example of fatherhood, transnational business masculinities, and work-life balance in large law firms. Nevada Law Journal, 13(2),7.
Dinerman, B. (1969). Sex discrimination in the legal profession. American Bar Association Journal, 55(10), 951–954. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25724925
Doran, P., Burden, S., & Shryane, N. (2022). Integration of narratives into mixed methods research: An example from a study on the value of social support to older people with cancer. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 16(4), 418-437. https://doi.org/10.1177/15586898211056747.
Guinier, L., Fine, M., Balin, J., & Bartow, A. (1994). Becoming gentlemen: Women’s experiences at one ivy league law school. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 143(1), 1.
Harrington, M. (2013). Women lawyers: Rewriting the rules. United States: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
HC judge laments "huge disparity" in legal profession, says only 15 % of practicing lawyers are women. (2023, August 5). The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/hc-judge-laments-huge-disparity-in-legal-profession-says-only-15-of-practising-lawyers-are-women/articleshow/102447993.cms?
Hemant, A, (2022, April 29). Law institutes witness close to 50% enrollment of girl students. The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/law-institutes-witness-close-to-50-enrolment-of-girl-students/articleshow/91182616.cms
Katz, E. D., Rozema, K., & Sanga, S. (2023). Women in US law schools, 1948–2021. Journal of Legal Analysis, 15(1), 48-78.
Krauskopf, J. M. (1994). Touching the elephant: Perceptions of gender issues in nine law schools. Journal of Legal Education, 44(3), 311–340. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42893340
McGinley, A. C. (2013). Masculine law firms. FIU Law Review, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.25148/lawrev.8.2.12
Michelson, E. (2013). Women in the legal profession, 1970-2010: A study of the global supply of lawyers. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, 20(2), 1071–1137. https://doi.org/10.2979/indjglolegstu.20.2.1071
Mishra, S.K. (2015). Women in Indian courts of law. A study of women legal professionals in the district court of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh India. e-cadernos CES, 24, 84-85. https://doi.org/10.4000/eces.1976
Mossman, M. J. (2024). Quiet rebels: A history of Ontario women lawyers. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press.
Murphy, R. (1988). Social closure: The theory of monopolization and exclusion. Oxford University Press.
Ojha, S. (2024, February 18). Our duty to create dignified conditions for women in judiciary: Chief Justice Chandrachud. India Today. https://www.indiatoday.in/law/story/cji-dy-chandrachud-women-in-judiciary-dignified-working-conditions-supreme-court-2503823-2024-02-18
Omnia, G. (2023, January 24). Women in Legal Education and Legal Profession, International Association of Women Judges, https://www.iawj.org/women-legal-education-profession-egypt
Purvis, D. (2012). Female law students, gendered self-evaluation, and the promise of positive psychology Penn State Law. https://elibrary.law.psu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1219&context=fac_works
Rhode, D. L. (2001). The unfinished agenda: Women and the legal profession. American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession.
Sanders, O.M. (2023). Gender Disparities Present within the Legal Profession [Honors Thesis, University of Mississippi]. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3862&context=hon_thesis
Tannvi, T. & Narayana, S. (2022). The challenge of gender stereotyping in Indian courts, law criminology and social justice. Cogent Social Sciences, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2022.2116815
United Nations (2023). The Sustainable Development Goals Report. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2023/The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2023.pdf
United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (2014). Gender stereotypes and Stereotyping and women’s rights. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Women/WRGS/OnePagers/Gender_stereotyping.pdf
Varghese, N. V., & Sabharwal, N. S. (2023). India Higher Education Report 2022: Women in Higher Education (First edition). Routledge.
Wadhawan, A. (2023, December 21). Registration of Female Candidates in CLAT increases as more Women get interested in Legal Profession. Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/registration-of-female-candidates-in-clat-increases-as-more-women-get-interested-in-legal-profession/articleshow/106167700.cms
Weisberg, D. K. (1977). Barred from the bar: Women and legal education in the United States 1870-1890. Journal of Legal Education, 28(4), 485–507. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42897011
Additional Files
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Navjeet Sidhu Kundal, Garima Singh
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
