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The Gendered Experience: Being a female law student at the University of Washington School of Law

Women have attended the University of Washington School of Law since the entering class in 1899, comprising about 25% of the law school.  Starting in the 1970s, the attendance of women in law schools has been on the rise, so that now, women now compromise a majority of the students at law schools.  As the number of women began to increase, discussion increased as to how women experienced law school.  In 1994, Lani Guinier authored "Becoming Gentlemen: Women's Experiences at One Ivey League Law School."  (143 U. PA. L. REV. 1 (1994)) where she discussed the impact of women at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.  The study found some disturbing differences between the way men and women experienced law school.  Since her report, many other law schools have begun to explore the how gender impacts the law school experience. 

In 2001, the Law Women's Caucus proposed the law school establish a committee to study gender at the University of Washington School of Law.   The administration embraced the idea, and the Gender Study Committee formed.  The committee is compromised of several faculty members and students representatives from the Law Women's Caucus.  On of the first tasks of the committee was to embark on a study to explore the experience of women and men at the law school.  Given the studies that different law schools have performed, the University of Washington study yielded positive results for the way women experience law school.   Nevertheless, the study also found areas where the law school could improve and discovered that one area specifically that needs more attention is with regard to how women of color experience law school. 

In the 2005-2006 academic year, the Gender Study committee plans to educate the Law School community about the findings and to explore more ways to promote a healthy, positive law experience for the entire law school community. 

Below you will find links to articles that have been published on the UW Law School website and that can still be found on their website.  These articles provide fuller summaries of the study and the committee.

Follow this link for articles of interest related to the gendered experience of law school.

Gender Study Report