A recent column published by the ABA Journal outlining the challenges and pitfalls many women face during the career has made shockwaves throughout the legal community in recent weeks—not for novel insights, but for inadvertently highlighting the shortfalls the industry continues to face in achieving gender equity.

In writing the column, “Are women lawyers paying enough attention to upward mobility?” author Susan Smith Blakely aims to offer advice to female lawyers on aggressively maintaining an upward trajectory in their career while navigating the challenges of motherhood. She also acknowledges the political dynamics of the profession, as well as the reality that many women do face.