Abstract
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 47-64 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Sociology |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2007 |
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Keywords
- gender
- legal profession
- sedimentation
- segmentation
- stratification
Cite this
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Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em: Gendered segmentation in the legal profession. / Bolton, S.C.; Muzio, D.
In: Sociology, Vol. 41, No. 2, 2007, p. 47-64.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em: Gendered segmentation in the legal profession
AU - Bolton, S.C.
AU - Muzio, D.
PY - 2007
Y1 - 2007
N2 - Successful professions have historically relied on the establishment of effective closure regimes. The last 30 years or so have witnessed a gradual erosion of the legal profession's external closure regime, which seems to be associated with the gradual feminization of the legal profession. Women now represent the majority of salaried solicitors; yet, despite some recent progress,they still represent a mere quarter of partners. In reference to these developments this article seeks to cultivate a typology of patterns of gendered segmentation in the legal profession. We argue that gendered segmentation, which thrives on the ideology of women's difference, has become a defence mechanism of an embattled profession, ensuring that the elite segments hold onto their status and associated rewards while the feminized segments increase leverage without rocking the partnership system, effectively forming a reserve army of legal labour with lesser terms and conditions.
AB - Successful professions have historically relied on the establishment of effective closure regimes. The last 30 years or so have witnessed a gradual erosion of the legal profession's external closure regime, which seems to be associated with the gradual feminization of the legal profession. Women now represent the majority of salaried solicitors; yet, despite some recent progress,they still represent a mere quarter of partners. In reference to these developments this article seeks to cultivate a typology of patterns of gendered segmentation in the legal profession. We argue that gendered segmentation, which thrives on the ideology of women's difference, has become a defence mechanism of an embattled profession, ensuring that the elite segments hold onto their status and associated rewards while the feminized segments increase leverage without rocking the partnership system, effectively forming a reserve army of legal labour with lesser terms and conditions.
KW - gender
KW - legal profession
KW - sedimentation
KW - segmentation
KW - stratification
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0038038507072283
U2 - 10.1177/0038038507072283
DO - 10.1177/0038038507072283
M3 - Article
VL - 41
SP - 47
EP - 64
JO - Sociology
T2 - Sociology
JF - Sociology
SN - 0038-0385
IS - 2
ER -