Harassment

In November 2020, the New York State Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts released its 2020 Gender Survey, detailing the treatment of women attorneys, litigants, and court employees in the state court system. While the study found that the treatment of women has improved markedly in the last few decades, it also found that significant gender bias continues to persist in New York State courts. The study—a sequel to the original 1986 report—was based on survey responses from a sample of over 5,300 attorneys admitted to practice law in New York State. The survey focused on several key issues, including the courthouse environment/sexual harassment; how gender impacts court interaction and perceived credibility; the treatment of domestic violence, rape, and prostitution cases; and the adequacy of courthouse facilities in providing Children’s Centers, lactation facilities, and baby changing stations. Treatment by Other Attorneys Though the Committee found that conditions in court facilities have improved since the original report, it also found continued gender disparities, as well as differing perceptions of discrimination between men and women. Regarding sexual harassment, for example, 10 percent of women surveyed reported that women attorneys are subjected to unwelcome physical contact by other attorneys in courts frequently, and another […]

As many schools go fully virtual this fall, working parents are faced with many questions about caring for and educating children while working.  Working moms also face an additional question: will my boss perceive me as less committed to my work because I am a woman with children?  Unfortunately, too often the answer is “yes.” That working moms face a “motherhood penalty” and working dads face a “fatherhood bonus” is well-documented.  Women lose 4% of their hourly earnings on average for each child, while men earn 6% more.  These figures reflect unlawful gender stereotypes: the moms take care of children; dads work to provide for children.  Assuming the primary job of moms is to care for their children, employers unlawfully assume that women with children are less committed to work.  They also apply the opposite stereotypes to men. These stereotypes can be exacerbated during the pandemic when women are video conferencing with their bosses from home, and children are very much “in the picture.”  Too many employers are requiring working moms to “prove their commitment” to their jobs.  In contrast, employers assume working dads are already committed.  Many bosses even praise dads for taking care of kids, assuming that it is […]

According to a policy brief by the UN Secretary-General published on April 9, 2020, “across every sphere, from health to the economy, security to social protection, the impacts of COVID-19 are exacerbated for women and girls simply by virtue of their sex.” The policy brief concludes that of the nearly 2.7 billion workers impacted by full or partial lockdown measures, women’s economic outcomes will be affected disproportionately to men. That is due to a confluence of factors. Worldwide, “women earn less, save less, hold less secure jobs” and have less access to the attendant social protections than men. Women who experience layoffs, furlough, or reduced salaries due to COVID-19 are therefore more likely to suffer economic insecurity. In many countries, layoffs have been especially high in sectors in which women are overrepresented, such as hospitality, retail, and tourism. COVID-19 is also having a particularly destructive effect on positions women hold in the informal economy, and these jobs usually offer the fewest social protections, such as paid sick leave. According to the policy brief, women worldwide spend three times as many hours as men on unpaid care and domestic work and constitute the majority of single-parent households. As COVID-19 caused school and daycare […]

These are extraordinary times for the healthcare system in the United States.  As of this writing, at least 206,233 Americans are known to have been infected with the coronavirus, and at least 4,576 of those individuals have died.  Of the Americans who have tested positive for the virus, at least 83,887 are from New York, the state hardest hit by the pandemic.  And the majority of those cases are in New York City, where the high density and population have made that metropolitan area the national epicenter of the public health crisis. Healthcare providers have answered the call.  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has reached out to medical professionals who work outside hospital settings to request that they volunteer in staffing hospitals during the pandemic.  At his daily briefing on March 25, Governor Cuomo announced that the State had heard back from 40,000 volunteers, including 2,265 physicians; 2,409 nurse practitioners; 938 physician assistants; 328 nurse anesthetists; 160 respiratory therapists; 16,367 registered nurses; and 4,016 licensed practical nurses. Beyond the obvious risk of getting infected with the virus themselves, volunteer healthcare providers face other risks while working in hospitals.  As my colleague, David Tracey, has explained, sexual harassment and gender discrimination are pervasive problems in medicine, as is discrimination against racial and ethnic minorities.  In […]

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