You Don't Look Like a Lawyer: Black Women and Systemic Gendered Racism highlights how race and gender create barriers to recruitment, professional development, and advancement to partnership for black women in elite corporate law firms. Utilizing narratives of black female lawyers, this book offers a blend of accessible theory to benefit any reader willing to learn about the underlying challenges that lead to their high attrition rates. Drawing from narratives of black female lawyers, their experiences center around gendered racism and are embedded within institutional practices at the hands of predominantly white men. In particular, the book covers topics such as appearance, white narratives of affirmative action, differences and similarities with white women and black men, exclusion from social and professional networking opportunities and lack of mentors, sponsors and substantive training. This book highlights the often-hidden mechanisms elite law firms utilize to perpetuate and maintain a dominant white male system. Weaving the narratives with a critical race analysis and accessible writing, the reader is exposed to this exclusive elite environment, demonstrating the rawness and reality of black women's experiences in white spaces. Finally, we get to hear the voices of black female lawyers as they tell their stories and perspectives on working in a highly competitive, racialized and gendered environment, and the impact it has on their advancement and beyond.
Acknowledgments Foreword Introduction: What We Talk about When We Talk about Diversity 1 Black Women's Burden Color-Blind Racism The Significance of White Racial Framing Systemic Gendered Racism The Invisible Labor Clause and the Inclusion Tax 2 You Don't Look Like a Lawyer White Castle American Beauty Fitting In Built for Comfort Acknowledgment: The Chronic Case of Mistaken Identity 3 The Outsider Within The Social (and Professional) Network That Old Outsider Feeling When in Doubt 4 All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men The Confidence Gap Great Expectations Time Waits for Men Sacrifices Gender in Black and White The Women More of the Same A Boost at the Start of the Race Gender in Black and Black: Part I "If It Don't Fit . . ." Code Switchin' Blue in Green Same but Different Gender in Black and Black: Part II Black Women Are Unique 5 Where the Boys Are Members Only Exclusion. Alienation. Discomfort. Disadvantage. Managing Women and Blacks 101 Boys Don't Cry Can I Hang Out with You Guys? Mentor, Friend, or Foe 6 "Can You Please Pass the Royal Jelly?" Cheap Frame How to Make Friends and Influence Partners Rain or Shine We're Just Not That into You Addendum: White Knights The Hours 7 Conclusion: The Importance of Being Earnest Appendix: Research Methodology Notes Bibliography Index About the Author
