Women’s Sense-making of Opportunity Structures in the Profession of Attorney in Poland

Abstract

The article examines the ways in which women make sense of the opportunity structures in which they operate as female attorneys in Poland. The study applies Joan Acker’s theory of gendered organization and a narrative approach to the analysis of interview data with 15 Polish female attorneys who practice law and are members of the Warsaw Chamber of the Bar. These women are pursuing their careers in a highly competitive and still male-dominated profession. The results demonstrate the continuing struggle of women to reconcile the often conflicting expectations and roles of professional and personal lives. The findings point towards four gendering processes that venture from the structure of the profession of attorney in Poland: professionally committed women are not limited by their family life; women need to invest more in activities that attract new clients; male attorneys are attributed greater authority; and women are more empathic. These processes sustain gender inequalities in the profession of attorney as they carry expectations of women to adapt to the existing professional structures in order to access more equal career opportunities. However, by making sense of the shared experiences of work-life conflict and of the feminine/masculine dichotomy, women exert agency to their claims to professional expertise.