Women in U.S. Law Schools, 1948-2021

Journal of Legal Analysis (2023)

Northwestern Public Law Research Paper No. 22-35

31 Pages Posted: 26 Aug 2022 Last revised: 10 Sep 2023

Date Written: August 16, 2022

Abstract

We study the progress of women’s representation and achievement in law schools. To do this, we assemble a new dataset on the number of women and men students, faculty, and deans at all ABA-approved U.S. law schools from 1948 to the present. These data enable us to study many unexplored features of women’s progress in law schools for the first time, including the process by which women initially gained access to each law school, the variance in women’s experiences across law schools, the relationship between women’s representation and student achievement, and the extent to which women disproportionally occupy interim and non-tenure track positions. We contextualize our findings by situating them within the vast qualitative literature on women’s experiences in law schools and the legal profession.

Keywords: Gender gap, law school

JEL Classification: I23, J7

Suggested Citation

Katz, Elizabeth and Rozema, Kyle and Sanga, Sarath, Women in U.S. Law Schools, 1948-2021 (August 16, 2022). Journal of Legal Analysis (2023), Northwestern Public Law Research Paper No. 22-35, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4194210 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4194210

Elizabeth Katz

University of Florida Levin College of Law ( email )

P.O. Box 117625
Gainesville, FL 32611-7625
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/elizabeth-katz

Kyle Rozema

Northwestern University - Pritzker School of Law ( email )

375 E. Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.kylerozema.com

Sarath Sanga (Contact Author)

Yale University - Law School ( email )

P.O. Box 208215
New Haven, CT 06520-8215
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://law.yale.edu/sarath-sanga

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