Women in the law: Partners or Tokens?

Research on the entry of women into occupational settings confirms the importance of the structural composition of the workplace insofar as women are treated as tokens. This study examines women lawyers in terms of three consequences of tokenism: visibility, polarization, and stereotyping. The results from a survey of lawyers in southern Arizona (N = 112) indicate support for the theory of tokenism. Women are more likely than men to report hearing sexist jokes and remarks, to be referred to by their first names, to be asked whether they are lawyers, and to receive compliments about their appearance rather than their achievements. These results highlight important gender differences in legal careers; it remains to be seen whether changes in women's numerical representation alone will be sufficient for changing the relations between dominants and tokens in legal workplaces.