Despite gender equality in law school enrollment, men will continue to dominate elite positions in the legal profession unless law schools make fundamental changes in the way they teach men and women to become lawyers. It is not merely a question of time. As institutions, law schools cultivate different kinds of behaviors in men and women, and as individuals, law school professors treat women differently than men. These differences make it more difficult for women to reach the highest levels of success in law.

1. Methodology: We base our empirical findings on a 2001-2002 study we directed, through Yale Law Women, examining the role of gender in faculty-student relations at the Yale Law School using three methods: (1) Open-ended interviews with senior faculty members, conducted by students; (2) classroom monitoring in which student-observers recorded participation in class by gender, and; (3) an online survey in which students responded to multiple-choice and open-ended questions about their interactions with faculty members inside and outside the classroom. (report available at www.yale.edu/ylw).

   1. A unique aspect of this methodology is the intensive focus on faculty perceptions of how gender affects legal education.
      1. This is critical in advocating for institutional change because faculty members hold the reins of power to change law schools.

   2. The methodology replicated a conversation by soliciting recommendations from faculty and students about what all members of the law school community can do to improve the education of female law students.

   3. The comprehensive nature of the study allowed us to track female students' experiences in law school.

2. In-Class Interactions Between Faculty and Students. We found that male students participate in class more than female students, and that at least some professors treat female students differently than male students in ways that reduce female students' participation.
   1. Male students participate in class discussions more than female students.
      1. Nearly two-thirds of students believe that male students participate in class more than female students.

      2. Classroom monitoring data show that, on average, male students speak in class 38% more than do female students.

         1. The speaking disparity ratio is reduced by 24 percentage points in classes taught by a female professor.

         2. The speaking disparity ratio is increased by 31 percentage points in classes with 50 or more students.

      3. Most of the disparity in men's and women's speaking rates is due to a disparity in the rates at which men and women volunteer and/or are invited to speak once they volunteer.

   2. Faculty members treat comments by men differently than they treat comments by women in ways that tend to reduce the weight and frequency of women's contributions.
      1. Nearly three-quarters of students report that they observe a difference in the way professors address men's versus women's comments.
         1. Students report that faculty members press women less.

         2. Students report that faculty members spend less time on women's comments.

      2. Some male faculty members report being less willing to challenge and/or press ("fight with") female students.

      3. Monitoring data show that women are 17% less likely than men to be "compelled" to speak, i.e. to be called on without having volunteered.

   3. Faculty members and students report that, to the extent that a small group of students monopolizes classroom discussion, that group of students tends to be male.

   4. Diminished or less effective classroom participation by women feeds into diminished or less effective out-of-class interactions between faculty members and female students.

3. Out-of-Class Interactions Between Faculty and Students: Men and women experience out-of-class interactions with faculty members differently, namely, men experience greater comfort levels in approaching faculty members and greater success in forming mentoring relationships with a predominately male faculty.
   1. Men and women experience differences in their out-of-class interactions with faculty members.
      1. When asked to gauge their comfort levels in approaching faculty members in six different ways outside the classroom, male students report a higher level of comfort with each of the six methods.
         1. Male students are more comfortable (1) attending posted office hours; (2) scheduling an appointment outside posted office hours; (3) stopping by a professor's office without an appointment; (4) approaching a professor after class or during breaks; (5) telephoning a professor; and (6) e-mailing a professor.

      2. Men find it easier to find faculty mentors and advocates, and they are more likely than women to report having a close, mentor-like relationship with a faculty member.
         1. Anecdotal evidence suggests that women may find it more difficult than men to request letters of recommendation.

         2. Male and female students report success in developing mentoring relationships with their clinical professors.

         3. Male students are more likely to rely on relatively casual contacts with faculty (i.e. class participation) as the basis for forming mentoring relationships.

   2. Some faculty members treat male and female students differently in ways that hinder the ability of female students to form professionally-beneficial relationships with them.
      1. In an attempt to avoid the appearance of sexual and other forms of impropriety, male faculty members interact less often and less closely with female students in ways that inhibit the growth of professionally valuable relationships and even distance women from the material that faculty members teach.

      2. A widespread "self-replication" approach to mentoring by an overwhelmingly male faculty favors male students in the informal interactions that form an important part of legal education.

After presenting these empirical findings, our presentation will explore how law school environments construct gender, offering explanations for the observed differences in the experiences of male and female students. We propose recommendations to improve the way law schools educate men and women, including improving how professors run their classes and hiring more women to law school faculties.