Tokenism, Organizational Segregation, and Coworker Relations in Law Firms

Abstract

Although occupational segregation by sex has declined in recent decades with the rising numbers of women entering traditionally male occupations (e.g., law and medicine), the achievement of women within male-dominated occupations continues to lag behind that of their male colleagues. In this article, we draw on theories of proportional rarity, expectations states, and social support as three dimensions that provide a structural understanding of tokenism. We examine tokenism in the legal profession through: (1) organizational context in terms of gender composition and gender ratios at upper echelons of the organizational hierarchy; (2) status characteristics of the minority and dominant groups; and (3) the content of communications (emotional and informational support) that women receive from their colleagues. These communications may act to integrate, or conversely, through their absence, exclude women and heighten boundaries to women's career advancement within the traditionally male profession of law. We used questionnaire data collected from a sample of 740 married lawyers working in law firms to examine these aspects of tokenism. The results reveal that women's rising representation in law firms leads to enhanced communication through informational and emotional support, benefiting both men and women lawyers. Yet, a more gender balanced organizational context, in terms of gender composition, does little to shift the expectation states associated with women lawyers and the professional disadvantage women face when they have family responsibilities.