tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6374214322052565688.post1451697260060562290..comments2024-03-18T12:26:47.682-07:00Comments on Full Of The Dickens: Just Plain RudeCPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09049860284871030328noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6374214322052565688.post-64737367051191073152013-07-11T19:39:00.417-07:002013-07-11T19:39:00.417-07:00CM- I wondered if it's typical practice for so...CM- I wondered if it's typical practice for some firms to always contact partners. But in this case the partner was not cc:ed on the correspondence and there had not been any prior correspondence between our firms. The partner is on the letter head (along with another partner) but that's pretty much it. Even if Big Law follows a hierarchy, it is still rude to not respond to the person that wrote you a letter! I wasn't even cc:ed on the response! RUDE!<br /><br />I admitted in my post that I could be wrong re: wage disparities. And I hold to it- I could very well be wrong. I guess I am very lucky to never have experienced anything like this. Of course there will always be some firms where this is just ingrained in the culture but I'm not convinced on a wide-scale/national level. And I wonder if this is more prevalent in some areas of the country. I just haven't read anything persuasive. Again, could be wrong. I'm not proclaiming to be an expert here. CPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09049860284871030328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6374214322052565688.post-73345485390769892012013-07-11T18:47:22.268-07:002013-07-11T18:47:22.268-07:00Yeah, I've seen this kind of stuff too. Sorry ...Yeah, I've seen this kind of stuff too. Sorry CP :)Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11743937341664264473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6374214322052565688.post-35529177262062356832013-07-11T11:43:13.155-07:002013-07-11T11:43:13.155-07:00I, also humbly, would refute your general rejectio...I, also humbly, would refute your general rejection of the statistics that show women are underpaid. As anecdotal evidence, I will point out that at my last job (I did the payroll, so I know), all professional women were paid in the 10-20th percentile for their job. All professional men were paid at 100th percentile or more. This had nothing to do with "asking for more" - I went to all interviews, was involved in all hiring decisions. Men, without doing anything at all, were offered more than women for the same jobs, regardless of experience or education. <br /><br />When I politely but firmly asked for a raise after a year and a half and glowing reviews of my work, I was told that husbands make the money for their families, not wives. When I left my job, I was making $50k. They offered my position to a young man straight out of college with no experience, and offered him $75k, because "that's what the market will pay a man." He declined, and they finally gave the job to a woman with 25 years of experience. They paid her $50k, same as me with only 5 years. The man was offered a $5000 relocation package. The woman was offered $500 incidental expenses, for things like switching her internet provider. The man received a contract offer with bonus and company car. The women got neither of those things. This kind of behavior was rampant - all male managers had bonus plans, stock options, relo packages and company vehicles. None of the female managers or professionals were offered any of these.<br /><br />My sister, who has a degree, was performing a job at a workplace at a certain rate. The man who later became her husband, and who did not have a degree nor any experience in the field (or any professional field), was offered the same job at almost double the pay. They later figured this out when they married.<br /><br />Another way that women are paid less is that traditional "women's work" gets paid less than traditional "men's work." Teachers and daycare workers make less than many trash collectors, plumbers, carpenters, even though arguably their work is as hard. Also, women who were unable to serve in combat roles in the military were often excluded from the highest paid positions, which require combat training/experience. There are a number of insidious ways that women are kept from earning at the rates of men, from outright discrimination to unconscious bias to misplaced patriarchal protectionism. One place where it's least prevalent is in law firms that typically have some kind of lockstep pay scale - but my experience in other fields is that women consistently get the short end of the pay "stick," for myriad reasons. And because, for many years, I was the only earner in our family, that disparity has been a real detriment to our ability to provide.RGhttp://www.reluctantgrownupblog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6374214322052565688.post-10493790916028395222013-07-11T10:19:16.633-07:002013-07-11T10:19:16.633-07:00I definitely consider myself a feminist, especiall...I definitely consider myself a feminist, especially where workplace issues are concerned. But I humbly submit to you that this may be more of a hierarchy thing than a gender thing. In Biglaw World, only partners matter. If they know you're an associate and there is a partner copied on the letter, there's a good chance they'll respond to the partner no matter who you are.CMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01559451322234777335noreply@blogger.com