Abstract

As Professor Joan Williams comments, most women never even approach the glass ceiling; they are "stopped dead, long beforehand, by the maternal wall." The maternal wall affects women with children in many aspects of their jobs, including hiring, promotions, pay, and even terminations. It is difficult for mothers to perform as ideal workers, because pregnancy, maternity leave, and the continual demands of child-rearing inevitably cause them to be absent from work. In addition, because mothers are not similarly situated to men or women without children, courts permit employers to treat them differently, which usually means they are treated more poorly.

It is not my goal in this piece to solve the maternal wall problem or even to discuss it from a holistic perspective. Rather, my goal is quite modest. I will focus my discussion of the maternal wall on the legal workplace and explain why it is necessary to redefine Superwoman in order to succeed as a mother-attorney.

This Essay is divided into two parts: the "Problem" and the "Solutions." Part II discusses the maternal wall problem in the workplace. Part III will discuss proposed solutions for dealing with discrimination against mothers in the legal workplace.

This abstract has been adapted from the author's introduction.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Spring 2006

Publication Information

13 Duke Journal of Gender, Law and Policy 55-84 (2006)

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