Winter has arrived, more or less, and I own only two pant suits (one which I recently purchased in anticipation of the cold weather) -- all my other suits are skirt suits, being the preferred option in the legal community, and having only worked at a law firm over the summer, my preference as well. I haven't quite given in to wearing tights with my skirt suits (which, let's be honest, provides little in terms of warmth or comfort) and despite my long peacoat, my legs are still FREEZING! So much so, that I find myself tip-toeing across the Subway grates (otherwise my heels would fall through on the days I forget to bring a pair of flats) to get the wafts of warm air that blow through. This morning, as I was tip-toeing across the grates, I thought to myself - this is really gross; who knows what's in this air -- and then I thought to myself -- I bet guys have no idea what we go through and then I was a little bitter, and then I got over it.
Okay, so perhaps not the greatest inequity faced by young women today, but a small reminder of the many small and large inequities that exist and reason for a more honest dialogue about what those inequities are, how they manifest on a daily basis, and what we can do to better tackle the problem of what I call Yufpie dropoff, whereby women are over-represented in top universities and professional schools, but grossly under-represented in the workforce, particularly with respect to the more prominent positions in professional communities. See, e.g., http://www.catalyst.org/publication/271/women-ceos-of-the-fortune-1000; http://www.catalyst.org/publication/246/women-in-law-in-the-us; http://www.aauw.org/learn/research/upload/whysofew_execsummary.pdf.
So, I thought I'd start a blog, where we could all share our stories, frustrations, and perhaps solutions (other than using surrogates, but I guess if you feel so inclined to offer your views, I won't stop you). I know we do so in private conversation which is great, but I think a more open forum may be appropriate. I would suggest that we make posts anonymous, but I'm not sure quite how to do that yet, but if you find a way, let me know, and have at it!!! Also, feel free to add friends as authors since apparently the only "Yufpies" I know are lawyers. :)
