Weekly Roundup
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– Elena Kagan wore a pantsuit for her first oral argument! Above the Law has all the details on her outfit.
– The NY Lawyer's “Snark” column (tongue in cheek, but not really) advises “constant vigilence,” and we have to agree.
– Should you name your daughters masculine names in order to help them to succeed? The ABA Journal wonders.
– Lifehacker advises how to securely destroy your credit card in 15 slices.
– Jeri's Organizing & Decluttering News rounds up attractive magazine holders for your office or home.
No no no on the names! I have a gender-ambiguous name (Erin is my middle name). I walked in to my very first callback interview my 1L year wearing, and the interviewer – who had final hiring authority – jumped up from behind his desk and said “Oh, we were expecting a guy!” He proceeded to be extremely polite and solicitous and I did not get the job. My career services office counseled me to put things on my resume that clearly indicated gender – membership in the women law students group, for instance – but this sort of thing kept happening. Even now at my current job, just last week I got an email – from HR, nonetheless! – addressing me as Mr.! It sucks. Don’t do it to your daughter.
Erin, I have the exact same problem (right down to people mistaking me for a man when they clearly didn’t read my resume indicating membership in the Women’s Law Association, etc.). I commented on the ABA Journal article, but I’ll repost here:
Please, mamas, don’t give your girl babies masculine names! My mother did it to me, albeit unknowingly – she got the name from a friend’s daughter, so I guess ultimately it’s her friend’s fault. To make matters worse, the name is both somewhat ethnic and commonly used as a last name (so when people don’t think I’m male, they think my first name is my last name and vice versa). Confusion abounds.
I haven’t been practicing long, but it’s already become clear that this is a professional liability for me. Unfortunately, it’s too late at this point in my life to change it.
Erin, I wouldn’t want to work for any of the firms that could not figure out that you are a woman! Maybe you got lucky that you didn’t get hired. One of the male partners in my firm works with a female associate. The client clearly prefers to deal with the associate. The partner called that the “Palin-effect.”