Of all the reasons women quit Big Law—the old-boys’ network, lack of mentors and sponsors, client development challenges and plain old sexism—there’s another explanation that’s far more pedestrian: housework.
Women are leading double lives—high-powered lawyers at the office, and Susie Homemaker everywhere else. According to an American Bar Association and ALM Legal Intelligence survey of 1,300 lawyers at the nation’s 350 largest firms, women are bearing the lion’s share of responsibilities at home:
- 54 percent of women (versus 1 percent of men) say child care is their responsibility.
- 39 percent of women (versus 11 percent of men) say they cook the meals.
- 34 percent of women (versus 5 percent of men) say they leave work for children’s needs.
