PRESIDENT ’ S MESSAGE
Julia Wyda 2021-22 PBCBA President
The Palm Beach County Bar Association (“ PBCBA ”) has been hard at work planning our upcoming Town Hall on the Gender Pay Gap , which will provide a forum for our members to address and discuss the gender pay gap and gender equity issues in the legal profession . Please join us on April 13 , 2022 from 11:45 a . m . to 2:00 p . m . at the West Palm Beach Embassy Suites for this much needed discussion .
The discussion will be led by Hilarie Bass , past President of the American Bar Association and Founder and President of the Bass Institute for Diversity and Inclusion . At the Bass Institute , Ms . Bass works with senior management of companies , law firms , and institutions around the world to identify and create effective strategies to retain women throughout their careers and elevate them to senior management roles .
Our Town Hall panelists include : Bill Shephard of Holland & Knight ; John Hart of Carlton Fields ; Kristin Ahr of Nelson Mullins ; Chris Searcy of Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley ; Tasha Dickinson of Day Pitney ; Sia Baker-Barnes as President and Founding Member of the newly formed Palm Beach County Sheree Davis Cunningham Black Women Lawyers Association ; and Cathleen Scott of Scott Wagner & Associates .
For those who think there is no gender pay gap in the legal profession , the research proves otherwise . And for those who believe any gender pay gap will work itself out over time , the research further bears out that if we continue at the current pace , we will not reach pay equity until 2059 .
The pandemic has brought these issues to the forefront , with many of our women lawyers with young children taking on extra child care responsibilities , while still trying to reach professional goals they set for themselves like partnership and board certification . They have shown super human strength in a difficult time , and it has become glaringly obvious that they deserve equal opportunities for advancement and pay .
We are asking all of our PBCBA members to attend this event . This issue is not solely a women lawyer issue ; this is a legal community issue . It is often male attorneys who can change firm cultures to encourage more equality at their firms , whether by supporting female associates who are being paid less or advocating for female attorneys well capable of partnership or advancement within their firms .
Until recently , women lawyers were often told in CLEs that the answer to the gender equity problem was to better negotiate for themselves . We now know that the answer is much more nuanced . Conscious and subconscious bias lead some to negatively view women who advocate for themselves . This bias exists before any negotiation even begins , so it evidences an underlying issue that has to be addressed . The more we begin to candidly talk about it , the greater the chance we start to change it .
There are law firms that are understanding that the old messaging on this issue is not helping . Recently , firms with offices in Palm Beach County have created programs to support women attorneys . One example is Nelson Mullins , which created the Women ’ s Affinity Group , to enhance the recruitment and retention of women attorneys and to foster a better understanding among all of the firm ’ s attorneys of the unique issues facing women professionals . The firm also instituted the High Potentials Program , which is a two-year program to expand business development and leadership capabilities in its female attorneys . Similarly , Holland and Knight has started the firm ’ s Women ’ s Initiative dedicated to the recruitment , retention , and advancement of women lawyers . These programs will be discussed at the Town Hall in hopes that some of the concepts could potentially be applied in firms throughout Palm Beach County .
The PBCBA has long been a leader in the legal community and we hope to continue that leadership by discussing these important topics . We want our female attorneys to know that we acknowledge the value they bring to our local legal community and the legal profession . We look forward to facilitating this day of frank discussion and education for all of our PBCBA members .
PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 3