Barbara Walters died last week. For those of you born in the 1990s or later, her name might not mean much, if anything. Her “old-fashioned” journalism has been replaced, at least to a substantial extent, by social media, podcasts, and other styles of providing and sharing contemporary information. Considered to be the first woman to break the glass ceiling of male-only television news anchors, she was a pioneer for women in TV news, but she was much more than that.
She wasn’t a lawyer, so why am I writing about her? Because she paved the way, not just for women in journalism, but for all women who sought to break out of the mold that had stifled women in all professions for so long. She showed that women could do everything and anything that men could. She upended the claims that women could not be competent professionals (which we were long beforehand, but no one recognized or even acknowledged that). And even today, it’s still an uphill slog.
Walters was named a “co-host” of NBC’s Today show after working on the program for 11 years. (I put the term in quotes, and you’ll understand why in a few succeeding words.) While she was allowed to participate in newsmaker interviews, she was prohibited from asking any questions until the male co-host (Frank McGee) asked not one, not two, but three.
Do you think that any woman would countenance being treated like that today? Don’t you think it still happens when judges instruct senior partners to permit associates to make arguments in court?
In 1976, she moved to ABC News where she was the first woman anchor to be paid $1 million a year, but her pairing with anchor Harry Reasoner, who could barely conceal his disdain for her, flopped. Walters went on to other assignments at the network. Reasoner remained as sole anchor. Sexism? You think?
Walters fought the battles she needed to fight to do what she wanted to do, what she wanted to become, and to be respected for her talents and abilities.
For many of the women who embarked on professional careers during those times (the 1960s and 1970s), hard choices had to be made between the professional and the personal. There were no family leaves, no disability leaves for pregnancy. Women often had to make a difficult choice between motherhood and career because, for whatever the reasons, we couldn’t have both. The “mommy track” was how it was phrased, and unfortunately, it still exists today.
Walters discussed that she had to make that choice and it pained her that she had sacrificed the personal for the professional, the age-old question of whether in retrospect, it is more important to spend time with family than landing the big story or, in our profession, the big reputation-making case. The deathbed question of which is more important: family or work?
Is there a legacy of Barbara Walters that applies to women in the law?
Her legacy, her hope, is that her story helps young women aspire.
Today, women who are looking at partnership are legitimately concerned if that they take off time for maternity leave, they will be derailed off the partnership track. Threads on Fishbowl show that the concern is alive and real.
Most, if not all, women lawyers have had mentors — known, unknown, or both — who have helped us along the way, who have given us a step up. Take the time to let them know the role they have played in helping you along, even if you haven’t been in touch with them for years or even decades. Even just a heartfelt thank you email will do.
Slow forward (certainly not fast) from the sacrifices that so many women lawyers have made along the way to today. Within the past year, we have seen Ketanji Brown Jackson take her seat on the U.S. Supreme Court as an associate justice, the first Black woman to have a seat on that court. Now, Kyra Harris Bolden becomes the first Black woman associate justice on the Michigan Supreme Court.
Appointed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Witmer, Justice Bolden’s personal history includes the shocking scar of racism. Her great grandfather was lynched in Tennessee in 1939 because he asked for a receipt for a purchase he had made, something that white people never had any problem requesting and receiving. Her great grandfather was beaten and castrated and thrown into a local river. The coroner said it was an “accidental drowning” and thus, the two men accused of his murder were never prosecuted. That was one of the reasons that Bolden decided to pursue a life in the law. Her aspirations became reality.
And here in California, we now have the first Latina Supreme Court chief justice, Patricia Guerrero, in a state that is just under 40% Latino. We also now have the first openly lesbian woman of color Supreme Court associate justice, Kelli Evans. All these appointments are evidence of what courts should look like in 21st century America. Incremental progress, but progress indeed. Finally.
Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She’s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact — it’s not always civil. You can reach her by email at oldladylawyer@gmail.com.
