Life balance issues are often the single most significant issue for women. That doesn't mean life balance isn't an important issue for men, but women are more likely to quit their jobs over it than men are. Our interviews with women lawyers reflect that women leave their jobs due to other factors once the life balance issue is addressed. Chief among them is the perceived lack of access to firm leaders. Women often have the view that a strong mentor is necessary to help them achieve advancement in their firms.
Women perceive that men are groomed for leadership positions by older, male partners.
Women feel that they are not given access to clients in the same way that their male counterparts are. Women also feel that men are groomed to take over rainmaking roles in a way that women are not. Women perceive that their contributions to the firm are not valued in the same way that the firm values the contributions of their male counterparts. Women also believe that the way they want to practice law is not acceptable to their firms. These factors, women feel, make it too difficult to break through the glass ceiling and not worth the effort.