17.11

Amy Sennett, our WLA President, thanks everyone for being here!

17.11

Deeley: “Keep coming and speak up – the more people see people like you” the better we will all be.

17.10

Paul Sprenger says he’s experienced jurors who may not look sympathetic to women’s rights. He talks about family – mothers, sisters – to convey sensitivity.

17.09

Blaine Kerr: “In a Title IX case, male feminism is really important.” You want to have a mix of witnesses, convey “even visually” the image of broad support and commitment to Title IX.

17.08

Third question from a male feminist: “What can we do as feminists in general and male feminists in particular” to combat myths about who feminists are?

17.07

Priscilla Smith discusses how reproductive rights is focused on redeveloping the grassroots movement and combatting the shaming of abortion. “You have to combine the strategies – build the momentum in the public” and use grassroots advocacy.

17.06

Second question from a self-identified non-law student (we’re so glad you are here!): What can grassroots groups do to work with litigators?

17.05

First question for Deeley from a California Prop 8 voeter: What about getting out messaging to help people understand the ballot for Prop 8?

17.03

Deeley says changing the minds of people through media can be really effective. Coming up, we have Perry and DOMA legislation which will have a big impact.

17.02

Elizabeth Deeley suggests that LGBT rights is the future of litigation. Deeley references her work on the In Re Marriage cases in California – it interpreted the California Constitution, but that Constitution was really easy to amend with Prop 8. “You have what I always thought constitutions were meant to protect against – tyranny of the majority.” In San Francisco, she says you can totally lose focus of the rest of the world and think “no way Prop 8 will pass” because you are surrounded by like-minded people.

16.57

Blaine Kerr points out some issues coming out of Penn State. Can Penn State be liable to non-students, for example? The statute says “persons” (not students). For impact litigation, extending Title IX to non-students would be great. Can you tie to non-schools, such as youth sports clubs and summer camps? 40 million young people in this country participate in these clubs, and they are “predator magnets” – can we extend Title IX protection to these children? “That would be impact litigation of enormous impact, and the time is ripe. Penn State gives fertile ground to that time of activity.”

16.55

Blaine Kerr says juries and judges will be receptive and will consider what’s going on at Penn State. The circuits are coming around and getting annoyed with the cavalier approach to women’s safety on campus. Strategize with the expectation that documents will be hidden and destroyed with university cases – it’s something about the circled wagons culture. Many circuits don’t have any Title IX opinions at all so it’s a great time to make some law. Kerr also notes that the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education is in activist mode – “They’ve got some great lawyers and they want to make a difference.”

16.52

Priscilla Smith connects back to the earlier discussion of whether civil rights lawyers have been over-dependent on litigation. In reproductive rights, we need to build the groundswell grassroots movement to have lots of legislation on the state level. “Litigation in the future will remain an important part of reproductive rights as the only way to challenge majority rules, especially where the majority has enacted restrictive rules limiting abortion.” She points out that her failure in Carhart gave us a great dissent by Ginsburg – perhaps a jumping-off point if we get a fifth justice!

16.49

Paul Sprenger: “It depends on the Supreme Court!”

16.48

What’s the future of civil rights litigation?, moderator Professor Chamallas asks.

16.44

Paul Sprenger recalls a Title IX case where they found a “hot doc” after boxes of paper – a short note by a coach remarking on a female player’s body. Another case involving employment discrimination they found a hot doc saying “best seminar we’ve ever had – too bad she’s a woman though.” Sprenger advices having a trial strategy, but also having a negotiation strategy.

16.39

Priscilla Smith: “Gonzales v. Carhart is my biggest failure – I’ll always live with that as my greatest failure.” She says she drank her own Kool-Aid in hoping that she’d convince Justice Kennedy to change his mind (she even dreamed about their conversations!).

16.37

Priscilla Smith advices learning local analogies and sayings. For example, she used a well-known New Orleans anecdote in a partial-birth abortion case.

16.34

Priscilla Smith: “Let’s talk about litigating in the South when you’re talking about abortion. . . . and your name is Priscilla, so you’re a Yankee!” Priscilla says that litigators need to know their audience, and “erase yourself from the picture – make it just about the case.” She tells an anecdote about how she grew her hair out in preparation for a case in front of the Florida Supreme Court and had her boss show her how to tease it up. She got advice to wear bright colors. On her way to court she saw a billboard of a local TV anchor and she looked just like the billboard. This proved effective: “I was just one of the women they see – they [the court] recognized me.”

16.29

Blaine continues: “In hindsight we should have thought it through, anticipated that it wouldn’t have gone as well at the trial level, and the summary judgment wouldn’t have felt so devastating.”

16.28

Blaine Kerr discusses the University of Colorado football program case – a huge Title IX case. A short review of the facts: U.Colorado football players and recruits crashed an off-campus party and severely sexually assaulted a number of the women there. Per Davis, you need to show that the school had actual knowledge of the risk of such an event happening. He had to argue that the recruiting program itself was a known risk. At the trial level, they lost terribly at summary judgment. “We should have planned for a 10th Circuit case from the very beginning.” His small firm did 10,000 billable hours on the case. The town lost major developers, and it tore the town apart – “It felt like A Civil Action at some points.” The 10th Circuit said that the 20 years worth of sexual misconduct by the U.Colorado football program was relevant. “We would have never gotten that with a trial judge.”

16.23

Elizabeth Deeley tells another story where attention to detail didn’t go her way, where she didn’t get something in writing. Her second piece of advice: be prepared for your weak points, and have “good and sound” answers for it. “Be careful of drinking your own Kool-Aid, and be careful of group think.”

16.21

Elizabeth Deeley: “Preparation and attention to detail is key.” Her first discrimination was a Title VII case against the U.S. Postal Service  - Elizabeth had taken employment law but didn’t know what to expect. The facts were very striking, but there were tough issues on the plaintiff’s side too. Speaking of preparation – the plaintiff had collected 25 boxes of documents from the other side (a lot of documents for a small pro bono case). And attention to detail – halfway down a hand-written document in box 24 they find “progressive discipline due to EEO” – caught red-handed. That’s reassuring for those 3Ls going into litigation at big law who know they’ll be doing plenty of doc review next year – keep focused!

16.13

Professor Chamallas asks: What have been the greatest successes and failures of our panelists – and what measure do they use for success?

16.12

Following up from Priscilla Smith saying that she didn’t necessarily have a plan to do reproductive rights work, Paul Sprenger says, “I didn’t have a plan either!” They passed the class action rule the year he graduated law school so he was assigned to do class action work. Ever since, for forty years, he’s been a plaintiff-side class action lawyer. If you’ve seen the movie “North Country” you have some introduction to his work, though he says “it’s too bad” he doesn’t actually know Charlize Theron.

16.06

Priscilla Smith introduces herself – a former litigator with the Center for Reproductive Rights. She says that her family imbued her with an eye for civil rights work and critical thinking. She credits her time at a New England prep school as her moment of radicalization. “I was shocked people thought certain things and I didn’t know you should keep quiet!” She says of litigators: “They have a lot of conflict but are quite adverse to conflict in some ways . . . they want a judge to keep it under control. This is just my pet theory,” she says.

16.01

Blaine Kerr’s interest in women’s issues came from medical malpractice work in breast cancer. However, he’s observed that medical malpractice is not always a vehicle for change, since cases settle. He says: “I’ve had a hunger for big cases that make a difference.” Blaine took a sabbatical year in Bosnia to have human rights be part of my work. And – he’s a novelist, writing about the breast cancer setting and war crimes setting. He’s done a number of Title IX cases, including some I read in my Title IX class with Prof. Rosenfeld last semester.

15.57

Elizabeth Deeley, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis (our sponsors today!) works in class action and will tell us about pursuing a career in big law and still maintaining work in fighting discrimination. Her first discrimination case came through pro bono.

15.54

Professor Chamallas introduces the panel – as an employment discrimination teacher, litigating for equality is particularly pertinent for her. She challenges the idea that litigation is no longer a useful strategy or venue for equality.

15.45

Hey everyone! This is Kristi, the HLS Moms Network Chair for the WLA, and I will be blogging for “Litigating to Fight Discrimination” now. We’re going to get started with the next panel in just a minute.

15.40

White: only weak leaders don’t ask for advice.

Estrich: don’t worry–people make the wrong decision all the time, and that’s okay.

Keenan: ask for advice from someone who is older than you and has a different perspective, not just your friends. Find mentors who have experience.

Witt: the greatest leader is the master of the collaborative decision-making process–this process creates great strength from many different sources. So long as you own the decision and stick by what you decide, how you get there will not be a point of weakness.

Schulman: don’t regrets decisions that you make fairly and honestly–all decisions that involve real thought and judgment don’t have a clear answer; no way to know the outcome.

15.36

How do leaders feel in the moments before making difficult decisions? It feels like weakness that it is difficult and there is uncertainty.

15.35

Schulman: thinks being liked does matter, to clients, employers. Corporate 360-degree reviews mean that you need to be nice to everyone you work with. There is nothing inconsistent between having power/authority and being liked.

BUT: don’t confuse being submissive with being liked, and don’t worry about being liked–not useful. Don’t lurk around the edges of a clique, wanting to get in.

15.30

Keenan: don’t be bitter! It’s bad all around. People confuse being liked and being respected–would rather be respected than liked. To be respected, you have to take chances, risks, say what you mean, be thoughtful and direct. Keenan ran for president of so many organizations because looked around and thought, if they can be president doing those things, I can do it and much better! No great woman ever got anything done because people liked her.

15.28

Estrich: when started on the Harvard Law Review, was the only woman. Throughout Estrich’s life, education, hard work, being smart, was always her ticket. A very well-liked man on law review told Estrich: “you are one ambitious chick.” What to do? Found poster of a chicken that said “women are not chicks.” Hung it up in the Law Review office when man wasn’t around. It can be very fun to fight for women’s equality–don’t be bitter, use humor and have some fun.

15.25

Q&A:

How has being a very strong, assertive woman worked against you in your career and how have you combated this?

15.25

White: the law is a terrific profession for women!

15.24

Witt: alliances are important–find others, men and women, to ally with on different issues, to make up for the fact that you might not always find two other women in the room.

15.23

Schulman: don’t wait until you have the perfect thing to say to speak. Diverse teams: why do they do better? Organizations that are receptive to different voices allow for more conversation and dialogue, and reach better decisions. We need to change both the system and ourselves–ourselves: when we hesitate to speak, we need to ask ourselves what we can do with that thought other than remain silent–write it down, tell someone after the event. The system: we need to translate organizations to women, to make them receptive to women. Women need to get up and dance, but if we want everyone to dance, we probably need to change the music.

15.19

Keenan: too much complaining and apologizing–we need to own our ambition. Advice: have a plan–most students, men and women, don’t have a plan. If you don’t have a plan, you’re part of someone else’s plan. At firms, secretaries know things that other people don’t know–be nice to them!

15.15

Anecdote about the power of multiple women: When Estrich started teaching, she wore red all the time. One day, women in the class told her that all the men were planning on wearing red the next class, to make fun of her. Estrich wore a blue suit to the next class, and started with a hypo: imagine there is a murder, and the only clue we have is that the killer was a man wearing a red sweater–all men in class were wearing red sweaters. Everyone laughed and Estrich regained control over the class.

15.12

Estrich: the rule of three–one woman may be crazy, the second may be unreliable, but by the time you get to the third, there is a bloc, power. There are women who have “I’m the only woman in the room” syndrome–I’m needed, special, etc. Estrich: when there’s just one woman in the room, she is a token–needs to get two more women, and become a bloc.

15.08

White: need to force some systemic change. But, one-size doesn’t fit all. Though you need to be yourself, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to develop useful skills. A supportive network really helps–the numbers in institutions are a problem; it’s just not as comfortable when there are 2 women and 75 men. Worried about the slight decrease in percentage of women at firms.

15.06

Second question: the business case for women’s advancement is growing–talent is becoming increasingly female and companies are worried about missing out on that talent. Studies have shown that diverse teams do better than homogenous teams, but, it’s hard work. People who have worked on diverse teams often report that it was difficult and predict lower levels of success. Should we fix ourselves as women (be more aggressive, better negotiators, ask for more, etc.) or fix the system?

15.02

Amy Schulman: we as women need to say that it’s more than luck, and claim our ambition; need to risk being unlikable. On taking risks and male/female differences: Schulman recently played monopoly with her youngest son; he was trading and mortgaging property he didn’t even own, while Schulman was wondering if she could build a house on Park Place–out of body experience–it’s a game! And, need to spend some (political) capital for the game to be fun. Advice: get political capital, and then spend it. When we spend political capital, we get more of it. Compliment each other when people do something good. Give other women opportunities–will likely be reciprocated.

14.57

Kim Keenan: women are good negotiators! Keenan is a great negotiator, and learned it from her mom–we need to focus on the skills we have, not just the ones we can acquire. Advice: YOU are responsible for your career–develop yourself. FYI: Women require a two- to three-time ask to agree to take on a leadership position. Men are often told, “you would make a really great [fill in leadership position]“–Keenan started telling women this, so that they would start thinking of themselves as leaders.

14.51

Susan Estrich faced issue w/ distribution of computer equipment at USC–turns out distribution was based on how much professors (male) complained, who professors (male) were friends with. She started at technology committee to change this. Iris Bohnet: MIT study showed that women professors have fewer resources, in part because they don’t ask for them.

14.48

Susan Estrich: Advice: decide what you want, work unbelievably hard to get there, and pick your battles. There is an important role that women need to play in supporting other women. There is a special place in hell for women who don’t support other women!

14.43

Susan Estrich: extremely ambitious! Was chair of Women’s Law Association; had excellent grades and was on law review–went to interview at firms she didn’t want to work at so that they wouldn’t hire her and she could complain. Clerked after law school; her judge told her that Justice Brennan wouldn’t hire her b/c she was a woman. She clerked for Justice Stevens instead, and learned that it wasn’t Justice Brennan who didn’t like women, it was his secretary. After Brennan’s wife died, he married his secretary and started hiring women. After Brennan died, Susan started telling this story!

14.41

Iris Bohnet: women and men have different networks–women’s networks consist of their friends; men are more strategic about their networks.

14.39

Mary Jo White: chair of litigation dept at Debevoise in NYC; spent career at Debevoise and the US Attorney’s office SDNY and EDNY; 1993-2002 was the US Attorney for SDNY. Feels she is not an ambitious person, but also has always felt that she can do anything that is in front of her. Example of action taken: got firm health insurance policy changed–gave better benefits to men with families than women with families. Advice: be yourself (she is lucky–is a sports fanatic, which has been extremely helpful); think like yourself, act like yourself, work like a dog.

14.34

Agrees with Harris about figuring out the rules/politics of the organization and play the game.

14.34

Advice to those starting out: look and listen, to see where impact can be made; take risks outside of your comfort zone–will give you opportunities; think about what you are best at, what you enjoy–probably won’t find ultimate success in areas that are not your strengths.

14.32

Helen Witt: has worked at Kirkland and Ellis throughout her career; joined in a class of 16 associates, 4 of whom were women–now classes are 50-50. A lot of change, but have not yet had a woman chairman of the firm. Ambition wasn’t in the direction of leadership, previously–wanted to be a trial lawyer, leadership wasn’t an element of how she defined success. One of first leadership actions: got firm to create a  nursing room for mothers.

14.29

First question: tell us a bit about yourself, your life, what leadership means in your personal life, as a woman and in any other role that’s a part of your identity.

14.28

Sheryl Sandberg on the Ambition Gap–the gap between talk about ambition versus action; the gap between women who report being ambitious (about a third of women in the US), as compared to 70% of men. Also, success and likability are correlated for men, but not for women;  social backlash against women who successfully negotiate–how to deal with these challenges?

14.24

Iris: World Economic Forum now has 17% participation by women; many sessions on women’s leadership, gender equality

14.22

Women in Leadership Panel, with moderator Iris Bohnet and panelists Susan Estrich, Kim Keenan, Amy Schulman, Mary Jo White, and Helen Witt

12.51

Attorney General Harris is taking some more questions before we break for lunch. Check back for more updates once our panels begin again this afternoon!

12.50

Question 2: Can you explain more about your position on the death penalty?

Answer: My position on the death penalty hasn’t changed; I hold it very strongly and sincerely. I believe it’s a flawed system, and I do not support it. I’m opposed to it.

12.49

Part of making it all happen: put together a great team and delegate. Have folks who can focus on new issues and focus who can move the affirmative agenda forward.

12.46

Time for Q&A!

Question 1: Now that AGs’ agendas are so filled by national issues (foreclosure, Affordable Care Act), how do you make time for innovative ideas in your own state?

Answer: You realize you can’t do everything. “But I have reluctantly and fully embraced the concept of triage — we all have limited resources, and there’s a lot to get done.” … We should all embrace that no problem is too small. “If it’s a problem and you’re able to fix it, that’s important.” In my current work, I’ve recognized the need to diversify our approach.

12.42

Power of the position: engage in public education, reach out to marginalized groups, convene others to solve problems.

It’s important to realize that, when each of us comes to a position of power, “we should own it.. and bring to bear everything [we've] learned…in terms of the power and impact you can have on other people.”

“It all comes back to what my  mother said: ‘You may be the first, but make sure you’re not the last.’”

12.39

This issue — like many others issues dealing with sensitive, often embarrassing problems — is about knowing who the human beings are who are being affected and knowing what their stories are. The stories from struggling homeowners are not being made public the way other societal problems are well-known. It’s our job to make their stories real to people who aren’t living their lives.

12.37

Current major priority: looking at what we need to do around the adoption of technology. Too many government departments don’t have the technology or resources they need. AG Harris has spearheaded the creation of e-crime unit. Why? Not just to do something new, but to do something better.

On the mortgage crisis, which has resulted in foreclosure crisis: In CA, currently there are 8 of the top 10 cities most affected by the foreclosure crisis. Going to community centers, talking with advocates and homeowners, hearing heartbreaking stories. Families who want — and need — to stay in their homes are dealing with frustrating, confusing systems. And they’re losing their homes when they’re doing everything they can. The foreclosure crisis is having a disparate impact on communities of color — and for many folks, the American Dream has turned into an American Nightmare. Now working on a foreclosure fraud task force to help protect the most vulnerable.

12.31

When talking about “breaking barriers or innovation,” it’s about understanding we can’t be blindly adherent to tradition. We must see things the way they can be and then pursue that course.

Many issues addressed during AG run were about what needed to happen around these powerful state-wide positions in a state with so many challenges right now. And with all the budget concerns in CA now, people are more scared than ever of trying something new.

12.27

KH: I am a product of CA public schools. “I would not be here … without the education I received. And a child going through life without an education is tantamount to a crime.” In deciding to prosecute truancies, it was highly controversial, but I felt that this was important and needed to do it now.

“I was unapologetically agreeing to put myself out there to be the bad guy on this issue.” Why? Education and truancy are directly connected to every other issue we consider “big.”

12.24

For so long, we’ve been accepting false choices about what makes good criminal justice policy. Is asking if one is “tough on crime” really the right question?

Public health model has taught us this: prevent the thing before it occurs, if at all possible.

What issues should a DA focus on? Yes, murder, rape, and other violent crimes. But also truancy. Why? Huge percentage of those closely affected by crime are students.

12.22

Frequent question from reporters: What’s it like being the first woman DA? “Well, I’ve always been a woman… but I’m sure a man could do the job just as well.”

12.21

In the DA race, I remembered the work my parents had done: coalition-building — finding common goals. “Eventually, after a very long and heated campaign, the SF Chronicle, the morning after the election read, ‘Harris defeats…’”

12.20

After years of courtroom prosecuting, AG Harris ran for district attorney, challenging the incumbent DA of San Francisco. “I believed that the job could be done better.” There are, of course challenges to running any campaign — could it be done?

“There’s never been a woman to be the district attorney of SF — and you’re going to challenge long-held beliefs about who can keep you safe.”

12.18

(If you haven’t yet looked at Kamala Harris’ bio, do it now — I promise you’ll be impressed!)

12.17

KH: I grew up in a civil rights-focused family. Many of heroes of the civil rights movement… were the lawyers. “At a very young age, I decided I wanted to be a lawyer.” In law school, I made the decision about what to do in my career: be a prosecutor. To my family, “it was a curious decision.”

“Law enforcement…has such a profound and direct impact on the most vulnerable among us, and has as a responsibility…to be a voice for the voiceless.”

12.15

In case you’re curious what AG Harris is reading currently… Confidence Men and Lifting the Sky

12.14

On AG Harris: “This is someone who knows how to combine the tough, clear-eyed analysis of realities with … motivation and smarts [to make change].”

Welcome to Kamala Harris, the first Asian American, first African American, and first woman AG of our most populous state.

12.12

Dean Minow on the goals of today’s conference: pay attention to the worldwide health risks of women and mothers; pay attention to how legislation can advance equality in work, protect against gender-based violence, enhance educational opportunities. Pay attention to women as leaders and court challenges to discrimination.

These topics – and the challenges we face – “help us be bothered.”

12.10

Introduction by Dean Martha Minow of CA Attorney General Kamala Harris.

12.02

What advice do you have for young women who wish to pursue gender equality?

Ellen: You don’t have to run for office, you do have to pay attention to policy. Going to grassroots to get some men in power to change their minds  - grassroots groups get in touch with constituents of Congressmen – need to get in touch with the people who have the power in individual districts. Can work on other people’s campaigns. Find a woman friend who would be an excellent candidate and keep telling her that she should run.

Elizabeth: Volunteer on campaigns for candidates who want to advocate for  Get a job in congressional office, state office where they are dealing with issues of gender equality. Not to mention private organizations. The world is your oyster.

Mayra: All politics are local – commit to being a lifelong a mentor.

Diane: Check out the White House Project – bipartisan pipeline project to get women interested in running for office.

Locally: Barbara Lee Foundation.

11.57

What piece of legislation would you prioritize?

Lisa: Federal level – backlog of sexual assault kits, where women sat with their feet in stirrups for hours at a time  that was so traumatic with the hope that it would lead to the conviction of their perpetator. These kits have not been tested – need to mobilize funds to address this. Also important to increase funds for education: Myths and misconceptions about sexual assault, abortion, etc – need to change this through education – only way to do this is putting in money.

Elizabeth: Women have to be treated as adults and as equal. If this concept is impaired, it . ERA needs to be added to the constitutions. All restraints placed on women’s right to choose need to be removed. Women’s right to raise their children: So far behind in day care, paid family medical leave. Won’t see violence against women stop until we recognize that women are human.

Ellen: Single payer health insurance. It would guarantee good health coverage for everyone. Would free up so much money that is now being spent on our current complicated health care system. There would be more money for day care, prosecuting sexual violence cases.

Cheryl: Every country have a law that criminalizes domestic violence and sexual assault including marital rape. 106 countries in the world that still don’t have a law on domestic violence – testament to the culture of impunity that exists worldwide.

11.51

Congresswoman Holtzman speaks during "Law Making for Gender Equality" panel

11.49

Mayra: Senator McCulskey – introduced the women’s health amendment into the Affordable Care Act. Legislation creates a new culture. One of four daughters. Youngest sister was a senior in high school, very expensive. Mother has to make choices between paying for a mamogram and giving daugther a chance to go on a field trip . This amendment allows women to put their health first without sacrificing their families.

Teenage motherhood puts so many obstacles in front of young women. Access to contraception without cautionary requirements for teens gives women more choices and chances in life.

11.45

Lisa: Legislation hugely important in litigation of sex crimes.

Change from the “‘earnest resistance” to “forcible compulsion” requirement was a big change.  Consider, 1969 – only 19 convictions for rape in 5 counties of NYC because couldn’t get to the jury – legislative impediments. Rape shield laws got passed – before this woman’s entire sexual history would be exposed on the stand.

Statute: A man can rape his wife. Case law changed this, but the words stayed in the statute.

Sexual assault reform act: Worked to change the legislation. Couldn’t get over the horse trading that went on. Wanted to protect older children – 11 and 12 year olds weren’t previously protected. In trying to get this passed, had to engage in horse trading – eye opening experience. Was amazed that nothing happened until June. If you want to get criminal justice legislation passed need to partner with victims groups and women’s groups, to demonstrate that this isn’t just prosecutors trying to put people in jail. The importance of media attention: Shaming legislators into changing some important laws (e.g. 10 year statute of limitation despite DNA evidence of rape).

11.38

Elizabeth: Remembers passing a law that ensured a Title IX provision for lawyers fees. Passed through house and senate without fuss. Small provision like this permits lawyers to litigate these cases and change things.

Remembers:

ERA – Introduced by  Martha Griffiths

Credit cards in women’s own name - Margaret Heckler.

Domestics in Social Security - Shirley Chisolm

Can’t remember a single bit of legislation that advanced the status of women that wasn’t introduced by women. Exception: 1973: legislation for daycare (Sen. Mondell) – only piece ever pushed. Vetoed by Nixon. No movement on daycare since.

ERA: Adopted in 1972. All Congresswomen supported it which was astonishing. Had to mobilize a skeptical house and senate. Grassroots lobbying, put everything on computers for the first time. Each Congresswoman was responsible for keeping track certain number of men she knew well – make sure how they were voting. Women lobbied on the floor of the house. Organized grassroots with women groups: NOW, League of Women’s Voters. Grassroots effort – very important.

Constitutional questions had to be resolved. Did the President of the United States have to sign? Constitutional amendments only have to be signed by house and senate and sent to the states. Decided could produce no harm if President signed it. Had to work closely with White House and have President explain why he signed it. Heartbreaking when other three states didn’t ratify: Didn’t have the clout at the state level. Phillis Schafly and right wing had also mobilized to stop this.

11.29

Favorite war stories?

Ellen: Congresswomen caucus in Massachusetts legislature – We couldn’t agree on anything. Only thing we could agree on except that money should be spent on breast cancer research rather than treatment.

Woman legislator in 1992 said that woman victim of domestic violence said “she must have done something to deserve it.” Now, no one would say this – there has been huge progress in this area.

Breastfeeding in public legal in Mass. However, authority figures may prevent women from exercising this right. Decided to pass a law that said that breastfeeding is legal in public. This was an interesting experience because men were so uncomfortable. Some of the men thought there should be an age limit on this “We can’t have women on busses breastfeeding five year olds” – example of ridiculous comments and reason to not pass it. This law took a number of years to pass.

Abortion clinics: Protestors who would surround clinics with posters who would distress women trying to access these clinics. Worked to create a law to make a zone around the clinic and a noise limitation. Had to work with labour groups to ensure that striking rights wouldn’t be limited too much. After this law was passed, women will not be assaulted by “sidewalk counsellors.”  Susan Komen Foundation and Planned Parenthood funding debate demonstrates that this issue is still alive.

11.22

Follow up question: How do you get men on board?

Cheryl: Parallels to the US. Some of the men (two police chiefs in particular) nothing short of heros. Have watched women being beaten and killed in their homes and previously had no tools to intervene. Now that they have policy and laws passed, are able to intervene. Consequences from participating: Part of an international movement – prominence in the community rose.

However, the reality is that there were many men in positions of power who presented obstacles, and represented misogynistic opinions, degrading attitudes to advocates.

11.19

Diane Rosenfeld: how does the law become a tool for equality?

Cheryl Thomas cites steep increase in number of laws on DV in eastern Europe and former USSR. Thousands of orders of protection are now issued in Bulgaria every year. Lithuania just passed new DV law, and police have begun arresting batterers and removing them from homes. One prosecutor arrested for committing acts of DV!

11.16

Cheryl Thomas, Director of Women’s Human Rights Program. After working as a litigator in private practice, noted a gap in women’s programs in international human rights organizations and began working in the field of women’s rights as a volunteer. Notes “revolution” explosion of interest in women’s rights during early 1990s —  rise of the view that “women’s rights are human rights.” Today, her work focuses primarily on reforming laws on violence against women in countries of the former Soviet Union, the Baltics, and central Asia.

11.10

Ellen Story, 20 years in Massachusetts House of Representatives. Calls herself a “fan” of Elizabeth Holtzman; says “it never occurred to me to run for office until I ran.” Became interested in civil rights while growing up in segregated Texas. First decided to run for office when there was an empty seat and she realized she’s wasn’t satisfied with any of the candidates and couldn’t “talk anyone in to doing it.” Encourages the audience to run for office.

11.05

Elizabeth Holtzman, US Congresswoman of twenty years, currently co-chair of Government Relations Practice Group at Herrick, Feinstein. Was undergrad at Radcliffe, remembers time when women students weren’t allowed in Harvard’s library; then graduated from Harvard Law.  As member of Congress, became interested in disparities built into in Social Security  system, and founded bipartisan Congresswoman’s Caucus. Fought for passage of the ERA; successfully led movements to change rape law and medicare. But says women are still “fighting for the right to be treated as adults.”

10.56

2) Lisa Friel, formerly with New York County DA’s office as a prosecutor of sex crimes; currently provides consulting and investigation services in the area of sexual assault. Has spent most of her career working with victims of sexual assault. From DA’s office, became interested in legislation, and also in training employers and individuals in private sector to investigate and respond sexual assault appropriately and effectively.

10.49

Introductions:

1) Mayra Alvarez: Director of Public Health Policy at US Dept of Health and Human Services. Is interested in what she describes as “the policies that dictate health.” Mentions the Affordable Care Act as a particularly important piece of legislating tacking gender inequalities.

10.45

Diane Rosenfeld teaches seminars and clinics on Title IX and Gender Violence at Harvard Law. She opens the panel by citing Blackstone’s commentaries (18th century) to demonstrate how far the law has come: if a man killed her wife, it was legally the same as killing a stranger, but if a woman killed her husband, it was an act of treason — the same as killing the king. She calls for solidarity in women’s responses to and interactions with the law today.

10.41

10.40

10.40

10.40

The next panel is Law Making for Gender Equality, with Mayra Alvarez, Lisa Friel, Elizabeth Holtzman, Ellen Story, Cheryl Thomas, and Diane Rosenfeld moderating.

10.33

Thanking our panelists and taking a break before our next panel: Law Making for Gender Equality.

10.31

Q&A: how do we address the “danger/trauma” language some opponents of reproductive choice use in describing women’s post-abortion experiences?

Diane: (Blogger note: I got absorbed here and missed some incredible things that were said — sorry!) It drives me crazy that we want women to have children, but we won’t provide the safety net for women who have these children to have safe, healthy lives afterwards.

Nan: It’s actually much safer for women in the US to have an abortion than to give birth.

10.25

Q&A: What is the Center for Reproductive Rights’ stance on sex selective abortion?

Melissa: 1) Causes of sex-selective abortion need to be addressed and 2) criminalizing abortion will NOT prevent sex-selective abortion.

Mara: My own feeling is that, in some ways, sex-selective abortion bans in the US are aimed at putting more restrictions on abortions generally.

10.20

Melissa: what US students can do — lobby for more US funding globally for maternal care, do pro bono with organizations focused on reproductive rights, plenty of room in academic research on this issue.

10.18

Melissa: international case on Brazil’s failure to protect pregnant women can constitute discrimination — more info here.

10.16

Interesting area to consider expanding into in the future: civil rights legislation, Title VI look at disparities in health care.

10.14

Nan: Litigation obviously can have a major impact on reproductive health (Griswold, Roe, etc.). Other legislation has also provided significant improvements for maternal health care in the US. And globally, maternal health is being influenced by looking at these issues through a human rights framework. It has brought an incredible amount of attention to maternal mortality issues.

10.11

Side note: Affordable Care Act offers some protections for mothers but not enough — plenty of room to do more.

10.10

Diane: hugely important role for young lawyers in new field of public health law. Much of this law focuses on developing model legislation for states/counties in providing protections for pregnant women and mothers. (Example of needed legislation in many places: occupational protections for moms who breastfeed).

10.08

We should also look at the regulation of new technologies that allow for in vitro screenings – “the US is really the Wild West” when it comes to fertility” treatments.

10.06

Mara: we should look at what policies have worked and been successful in Asia. But there are some serious differences: in the US,  individuals would not accept a ban on sex determination before birth.

10.05

Mara: Not much good news on the sex selection front. In many nations, there is a ban on sex determination, so parents are not supposed to be able to have sex-selective abortions. Unfortunately, these bans are not strongly enforced. In the US: proposed bill against sex selection abortions, as well. 9 states have also addressed this issue.

10.02

Question from Prof. Barthlolet: What role can lawyers and others successfully play in “changing certain practices and policies that are problematic” and also “what work in the future you see as of enormous importance” where young lawyers could play a role?

10.01

News from Nepal: there’s a high percentage of pregnant women who commit suicide. More broadly, there’s also a serious link between domestic violence and pregnancy.

09.58

As noted earlier, social marginalization is a major factor in increased risk of mortality for pregnant women. Governments need to be focused on spreading out access to care and reaching women not traditionally able to access quality care.

09.57

The quality of care is also a huge international issue; many developing countries have facilities that actually contribute to maternal mortality rates.

09.56

Melissa: we need to review the work of the governments in providing quality maternal care. Countries need to focus on availability and on enforcing higher standards of care. In the US, we’re secure in our right not to be denied medical care if you walk into a hospital needing immediate care. In many countries, pregnant women are denied care when they need it most.

09.53

Important to remember the significance of the issue overall. 4 million women give birth every year. Giving birth is the most common reason for hospitalizations. We spend billion on maternal health each year, so we need to ensure the care women get is safe and effective.

09.51

Nan: In the US, we’ve been very focused on deciding the time/spacing/number of children, and we’ve fought lots of battles about the right NOT to give birth. Now, there’s a great deal of focus on human rights issues involved in GIVING birth. The US maternal mortality rate speaks significantly to our failure to meet women’s needs in this area.

09.49

Reproductive Justice: goes beyond individual rights and family planning and combines human rights and social justice. Three components of RJ: “the right to have children, the right not to have children, and the right to live in a society that allows for the best health and welfare for the children. Overall goal: empowering women to make choices.

09.48

Diane: World Health Organization has developed the idea of “health equity” — seeking out policies that are unjust — and that has moved a lot of emphasis away from looking at medical interventions to looking at structural changes to get at these issues.

09.46

Mara: examining the roots of sex selection problems today. Historical policies (particularly the legalization of abortion in many nations to serve as a population control method and China’s one-child policy) certainly are tied to issues we are currently facing. (Shocking sidenote: Mara noted that, at some points, it was publicly discussed how important sex selection could be in limiting populations — help families get a son on the first try, and we’ll cut out “unnecessary” births. Nevermind that those unnecessary births are girls.)

09.41

Melissa also looks at inequalities that come into play in maternal deaths – financial, geographical, and cultural differences.

09.41

Most maternal deaths are preventable; there are well-known medical interventions to save lives. Govts that have signed int’l treaties have affirmative duties to protect women’s health, but many obligations are not being met.

09.39

Melissa works on strategic litigation, legal advocacy, and fact-finding around maternal and reproductive rights.

09.38

CRR: focuses exclusively on using the law to advance and protect reproductive rights worldwide – addressing unsafe abortion, addressing discrimination in the context of reproductive health care, advocating for access to contraception.

09.37

Now turning to Melissa Upreti, regional director for Asia at the Center for Reproductive Rights.

09.36

How to address: no magic bullet. But identified problems: financial barriers, bureaucratic barriers, lack of info and participation in care decisions, lack of available family planning.

09.35

There are 34,000 “near misses” each in the US – instances where a woman has serious complications related to her pregnancy. This number has jumped up in recent years. And these issues are not uniform among different groups of women in the US; African American women are dramatically more likely to suffer complications (and that disparity has seen “no improvement in 60 years”!).

09.33

The US spends the most on health care in the world, but we rank 50th in the world in terms of maternal mortality. Incredible.

09.33

As part of AI’s global work, AI thought it was important to look at global maternity and health in both developing countries and wealthier, more developed countries. The lesson: there are dramatic disparities in health outcomes, even in richer nations.

09.31

Next up: Nan Strauss, director of Maternal Health Research and Policy with Amnesty International USA.

09.31

We need begin to think about how women’s rights and policy (health and otherwise) can improve health outcomes.

09.29

Early examination of intersectionality in public health: looking at racism, sexism, classism in health trends. “What happens in the womb… can affect many outcomes in one’s life.”

09.28

Dr. Rowley spent part of her career looking at maternal health at CDC. One area of study while she was there: prenatal care for women of color.

09.27

Self-described job: “disease detective.”

09.26

Hearing from Dr. Diane Rowley now. Dr. Rowley is a professor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health at UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health.

09.25

Side effects of sex selection: increased sex trafficking, “marriage tours” for men who are unable to find wives in China, etc.

09.24

Shocking statistic from one Chinese province: 152 boys born for every 100 girls. Hvistendahl: There’s major sex selection happening in urban areas, also.

09.23

Professor Bartholet has just introduced our panelists. We’re beginning with Mara Hvistendahl, who recently completed a book on sex selection in China. A Beijing-based journalist, she’s examined the issue — not only in China but in countries around the world.

09.20

Members of this morning’s first panel: Mara Hvistendahl, Dr. Diane L. Rowley, Nan Strauss, Melissa Upreti, and Moderator Elizabeth Bartholet. Check here for bio info on the panelists.

09.18

Panel #1 beginning now: Healthy Moms and Daughters: Maternal Health Worldwide.

09.16

Shout-outs to the conference organizers! An incredible amount of work went into today’s events, so these ladies are deserving of some recognition. Also a big thank you to our sponsor firm, Kirkland & Ellis.

09.14

Getting a preview of the women from whom we’ll hear later today – exciting! We really do have an incredible lineup for today.

09.13

Opening comments from 2011-2012 WLA President Amy Sennett  - reflecting on the changes she’s seen for women, nationally and here at HLS – since she began her law school career.

09.38

We’ll be kicking off the live blog on Friday morning, so stay tuned for updates!