This is the Time, This is the Place — Black Women Lawyers’ Attrition Rates Reflect a Lack of Space for Authenticity

Many have admittedly binge watched Issa Rae’s award winning show, Insecure. Black women in Los Angeles trying to make the most of adulthood, love, and work all while navigating the stereotypes associated with being Black women resonated with a wide audience. The main character, Issa, and her woman-child ways are juxtaposed by Molly, a successful young attorney who works extremely hard at a predominately white law firm. Her luxurious lifestyle, nice apartment, and expensive car reflect the fruits of her labor. 

After many questionable encounters with firm partners, however, she reflects on whether she belongs at the firm, and decides to make a shift to a predominantly Black law firm, where she feels she will be more appreciated. Molly’s switch is representative of the internal struggle that many Black women in the legal field encounter. While only 4% of firm partners are women of color, the demographic still encompasses the highest percentage of attrition from the field. Upon examination of Molly’s character, it becomes clear that Black women in law are subjected to higher attrition rates due to mental and physical turmoils — the battle against respectability politics and the battle against negative controlling images. 

Respectability politics refers to the muting and subduing of one's identity and culture to align more with whiteness. Black women in professional fields have engaged with respectability politics, whether that be through straightening their hair or code-switching in fear of tarnishing their reputation and offending higher-ups. Molly utilizes respectability politics, dulling her complex personality and attending social-networking events that she could care less about to maintain her status. 

Leading up to Molly’s departure, she is conflicted when a new summer associate, Rasheeda, enters the firm environment. Rasheeda’s presence could immediately be felt — with her bubbly personality, loud laugh, and intellectual curiosity on full display, it is clear that she refused to dilute herself. Molly decides to confront Rasheeda, and warns her to tone it down, as Rasheeda’s bright mind runs the risk of being overlooked due to her behavior, which doesn’t exactly fit into “firm culture.” Rasheeda decides to ignore Molly’s advice, confidently stating “I appreciate your feedback, but I didn’t switch it up in my interview with the senior partners, and I didn’t switch it up when I was named editor of the law review, so I don’t think I need to switch it up now, but thank you so much.” Shortly after, there is a silent scene with Rasheeda and the big bosses in the conference room, she looks defeated, and you can likely guess the obvious — she is either being reprimanded or let go. 

We are often told the saying “there is a time and place for everything.” But when are Black women ever allowed to be themselves without scrutiny? Why is Rasheeda’s outgoing personality seen as a breach of workplace etiquette? While Rasheeda was critical of Molly — and rightfully so — Molly was correct in her prediction of how the firm would react. As Black women, it doesn’t matter how hard you work if you’re not able to assimilate into the mainstream ideals of professionalism. Putting on a persona tolerable to the firm and its culture becomes draining, with bias and stereotyping cited as a main reason for the high attrition rates.

Despite Molly’s picture perfect depiction, she also cannot escape the dominating controlling images of Black women that plague society. As defined in Patricia Hill Collins’ Black Feminist Thought, “The Black Lady” stereotype reflects respectable Black women in professional industries who work too hard, and cannot keep a man around due to their cutthroat workplace atmosphere. Molly’s character seems to align with this demeaning stereotype. She plays into respectability politics and works exceptionally hard, taking work home and on vacations. A common theme throughout the show from the start is that Molly cannot seem to keep a suitable love interest. With each failed relationship, Molly is portrayed as the party at fault. 

So in both her personal and professional lives, she is forced to repress her authentic self — in the firm, she wears a mask of respectability or faces the same fate as Rasheeda. In personal life, she has to put her passion for the law and her career ambitions aside if she wants to maintain a stable relationship.

Before her transition from her predominately white firm, Molly wants to network with a partner, and decides to attend a firm-sponsored hockey game. She uses her impeccable networking skills, telling jokes and engaging the partner in conversation. They laugh and hit it off, and one can assume that Molly has sealed a new high status relationship. However, the next day, when Molly follows up with the partner by continuing her joke, it falls flat, as he first is confused by who Molly is, and upon realizing, he emotionlessly emphasizes that he was just joking the night before, as if Molly was unaware. He proceeds to ignore her, continuing a discussion with a young white male attorney. Molly appears defeated as she realizes that she will forever be an outsider. 

Upon her switch to the Black law firm, Molly is surprised that she still faces difficulties with fitting in. She is unwilling to downplay her professional aspirations, and is immediately seen as a threat by her counterparts, who are initially unwilling to support her. When Molly takes the lead on a project with coworker Taurean, he drops himself from the project, leaving Molly to fend for herself, a punishment for being too ambitious. When Taurean takes the lead on projects, he is praised by coworkers, but when Molly does the same, she is portrayed as selfish, unwilling to delegate. Molly simply has dreams to climb the ranks, a vision that is not supported by her coworkers when she initially enters the firm. A lack of support is cited as another reason for the high attrition rate of Black women from the legal field. Molly’s character exemplifies how discouraging it can be to remain stagnant in a role, with no foreseeable opportunities for upward mobility. It makes sense then, why hard working individuals would permanently turn their backs on the profession. 

Molly faces stumbling blocks both in her white firm and in her Black firm, commentary that aims to display that the struggle for authenticity isn’t only an issue found in predominantly white professional spheres — it is typical of law firm culture. Due to the intersectionality of Black women, the struggle is two-fold at the very least, and the medium in which these firms attack these aspects of identity is different. As shown in the example from the predominately white firm, Black women are seen as outsiders due to their race. They struggle to make connections with white partners who seem disinterested in forming mentoring relationships. Black women are therefore unable to compete with their white counterparts for equal pay, raises, or promotions because they do not have enough support from partners who can vouch for them. In the Black firms, however, it seems that Black women are seen as threats due to their status as women. They are not allowed to step out of line, especially in the presence of Black men. If she aspires to be more than the other women, she may be socially punished for it, both by Black men and other Black women. She struggles to both assert herself as both a hardworking individual and as someone who is a team player.

So, if Black women are scrutinized when being themselves in professional spaces, and face internal hatred and negative controlling images when conforming, what must be done to create environments in which Black women attorneys can successfully exist without being miserable? 

1. There must be a change in firm culture rooted in the education and discussion of implicit biases. As the world changes to include more Black women into professional spaces, the careers they inhabit should evolve to ensure Black women feel safe, included, and valued. 

2. Firms should create a mentorship program between Black women attorneys and those in high ranks at the law firm. This aids in giving these women more support, so that they can envision their upward mobility, and be motivated to stay in the legal profession. If this works out, there likely will be more Black women in higher ranks, and the cycle of mentorship will continue.

3. Black women need to dismantle and recognize our own internalized biases. By conforming to what is considered respectable, we are arguing that being ourselves isn’t respectable. Our true selves should not be kept hidden, and we should not be concerned by how tolerable we are to others.

We are not deserving of respect because we are acting or looking a certain way, nor are we deserving of respect because we refuse to. Black women are deserving of respect because Black women are human beings.