Reviews (13)

Why many women lawyers still hit the glass ceiling
In her thoroughly researched and heavily footnoted book, Lauren Stiller Rikleen examines this troublesome issue:why many female lawyers still have not achieved the same professional success as their male counterparts.Rikleen delves into the challenging topics including part-time work, and what happens to the careers of women who opt for that route.She also explains other factors that contribute to the success of male lawyers' careers (being mentored, and becoming rainmakers) and discuses why many women don't enjoy the benefit of those.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose
Having survived three years in a law firm (and survive was the key word), I could definitly relate to the stories in this book. The only shocking part is that I was in a law firm over 10 years ago, and nothing seems to have changed. Ending the Gauntlet, however, is more than a compendium of stories of women being mommy-tracked. It looks at the structure of a law firm itself and how that contributes to the workplace issues for everyone, not just women. I particularly loved the Prologue (worth the price of the book itself, especially if you have my warped sense of humor), because it describes how a bizarre sort of company is run where performance for all employees is based solely on money they personally earn for the company; the managing director/CEO is only "part-time" because he too has to earn money to keep his title; turnover is high; management is minimal or nonexistent; and people are given management positions because they are "least objectionable" to others; part-time is extended but discouraged as it cuts into billable hours ... and you finally start to realize that while the rest of the world has moved foward, law firms are relics of days gone by

Kudos for the Roadmap for Change
Here is a great articulation of the problems in law firms and other service firms, many of which no one, until now, has had the courage to point out clearly and effectively.And here is the roadmap for change.Anyone involved in a service firm should read it carefully and follow Lauren's lead. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Discrimination    2. Law   

Subjects:  1. Discrimination    2. Discrimination in employment    3. Gender & the Law    4. Labor & Employment    5. Law    6. Law and legislation    7. Legal Reference / Law Profession    8. United States    9. Business & Economics / Human Resources & Personnel Management    10. Central government    11. Employment & labour law    12. Law / Labor & Employment    13. Law-Discrimination    14. Law-Gender & the Law    15. Management & management techniques    16. USA   

Reviews (4)

This is destined to be a classic management text
This is destined to become one of the classic management texts. I found the authors treatement of the subject matter to be insightful and well thought out. This is a must for any person of color who is wondering whyit's taking them so long to move into the executive level.As a trainer Iwill be using this as one of my texts, and I plan on sending a number ofcopies to my friends.

Enjoyed it
I just finished reading Breaking Through and learned quite a bit. Recommend it to you. I wish the subject of leadership, and how to properly use it to get results on the job, was addressed more.I recommend you alsoget a copy of another book that addresses this issue and is very applicableto the subject of minorities as leaders:"The Leader's Guide: 15Essential Skills." It's at Amazon too.

A Must Read!
Breaking Through is a multifaceted book that speaks to a spectrum of audiences: the business leader committed to creating a diverse workplace; the human resource professional charged with designing and implementingdiversity initiatives; the minority professional aspiring to breakthrough.Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business Executives    4. Business/Economics    5. Discrimination    6. Discrimination In Employment    7. Diversity in the workplace    8. Executives    9. Leadership    10. Management - General    11. Minority Studies - General    12. Minority executives    13. United States    14. Ethnic studies    15. Organizational theory & behaviour    16. USA    17. Work & labour    18. Management    19. Human Resources    20. Diversity   

Reviews (1)

The Law of Sex Discrimanation
An above average text book which did more than serve its purpose.It also provided a good reference for a research paper and talked in detail about a number of legal cases. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cases    2. Discrimination    3. Gender & the Law    4. Law    5. Law and legislation    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. Legal status, laws, etc.    8. Sex discrimination against women    9. Sex discrimination in employment    10. United States    11. Women    12. Gender studies    13. Political Science / General    14. Social law   

Subjects:  1. Discrimination    2. Labor & Employment    3. Law    4. Employment & labour law   

Features

• Illustrated

Subjects:  1. African American criminals    2. Civil rights    3. Discrimination    4. Discrimination & Racism    5. Discrimination in capital punishment    6. Law    7. Lynching    8. Minority Studies - General    9. Penology    10. Sociology    11. United States    12. AFRICAN AMERICANS_CIVIL RIGHTS    13. CRIMINAL JUSTICE, ADMINISTRATION OF    14. Capital punishment    15. Ethnic studies    16. Law / General    17. USA   

Subjects:  1. Americans with Disabilities Ac    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Discrimination    5. Discrimination against people    6. Discrimination against people with disabilities    7. Discrimination in employment    8. General    9. Labor And Employment Law    10. Law    11. Law and legislation    12. Legal status, laws, etc    13. Legal status, laws, etc.    14. People with disabilities    15. Public Policy - Social Services & Welfare    16. Sociology - General    17. Sociology Of The Mentally And Physically Challenged    18. United States    19. Citizenship & nationality law    20. DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT_LAW AND LEGISLATION    21. Disability: social aspects    22. Human rights    23. Law / Discrimination    24. PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES_LEGAL STATUS, LAWS, ETC.    25. Social law    26. USA    27. c 1990 to c 2000   

Reviews (2)

Informative, yet still lacking.
"Rhode breaks little new ground," wrote one critic (Katha Pollitt, for the Atlantic Monthly) about Deborah L. Rhode's 1997 book Speaking of Sex: The Denial of Gender Inequality.While she has admirable intentions, her writing has several shortcomings which destroy the effectiveness of her book, even for some of those who may agree with her.Rhode received her B.A. in 1974 and her J.D. in 1977, both from Yale.She has an extensive list of legal and political honors and positions.Currently, Rhode is on the faculty at Stanford University.Several of her books have met with moderate success.Given Rhode's qualifications, it is disappointing that the thesis of Speaking of Sex is weak, making for a poor read.Throughout the book, Rhode's arguments are riddled with contradiction.Possibly the most prominent weakness of this book is that it fails to call the reader to action.While the book has some merits, such as its basic intents and its informative value, it falls short of making the world a better place for women. Eminently sensible, worth four and a half stars
Reading this sensible and intelligent book, and remembering how much I enjoyed Rhode's later book on the reform of the legal profession, I wondered why it is that such an eminently reasonable and articulate woman, who has provided such a thorough and well documented defense of feminism, should be so obscure in the world of public intellectuals.Rhode teaches at Stanford Law School, this book is published by Harvard University Press, and she does not write in a the complex academic jargon that all good journalists are trained to hate.Yet she is never called upon when journals like The New Republic or the New York Review of Books thinks it should have a female contributor.Read more

Subjects:  1. Discrimination    2. Gender & the Law    3. Sex discrimination against women    4. Sex role in the work environment    5. Social Science    6. Sociology    7. United States    8. Women's Studies - General    9. Work and family    10. Feminism    11. Law / Gender & the Law    12. Sex discrimination    13. USA   

Reviews (1)

Forced desegregation: noble idea, huge effort, mixed results
This is a comparison of two books with different points of view, one from the heart and one from the head.Tom Wicker's thesis in "Tragic Failure" subtitle "Racial Integration in America" is that racial integration simply has not worked. He would support the William O. Douglas / Thurgood Marshall line of thought that the job of integration will only be complete when most neighborhoods and schools are visibly multi-racial and all races enjoy substantially equal prestige and incomes.He would argue that government, especially the courts, have much more work to do.Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Discrimination    3. Discrimination & Racism    4. Law and legislation    5. Literary Collections    6. Literature: Classics    7. Political Freedom & Security - Civil Rights    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Politics/International Relations    10. School Desegregation    11. Segregation in education    12. United States    13. Human rights    14. Law / Constitutional    15. Law | Constitutional Law    16. Racism & racial discrimination    17. Social law    18. USA   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (7)

Packed With Knowledge!
Susan Antilla presents a powerful and startling indictment of the sexist behavior of stock brokers working for Wall Street and its offshoots, specifically Smith Barney's Shearson/American Express office in Garden City, Long Island. Women struggled to be hired, and then found that the men in charge of their careers practiced all sorts of sexual harassment and intimidation, from jokes to displays of sexual prowess, physical contact and threats of rape. As she describes, the bosses sought to bar women or trap them in low positions. While painting the broader picture, Antilla focuses on whistle blower, Pam Martens, who revealed the situation when she sued for damages. This skillfully written book reads like a fascinating novel, so graphic and dramatic that it is more like a screenplay than a report. We believe it will draw intense interest from everyone affected by this issue: female executives who face glass ceilings and harassment, male executives who must determine their own philosophies toward their female colleagues and human resource professionals who are charged with watching out for them both.

Very accurate
I was a successful broker for many years in one of Smith Barney's largest offices in the nation, and I can personally attest that the events depicted in this book, while shocking, are not exaggerations. A Case with a Twist
I'm a principal at an investment-banking firm although not a stockbroker so reading this book was a good exercise in reviewing the risks at our firm.The coverage in this book is exceptional.As discussed, investment-banking firms are ripe with potential for sexual discrimination.Partly because so many areas work on trading floors which breed a fraternity type atmosphere, partly because stock brokers tend to be fraternity/salesmen type guys, and partly because this environment has assistants, many who are women, working in close contact with these who sometimes consider themselves "masters of the universe."Confidence/cockiness is never in short supply at an investment banking firm's trading floor.Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Discrimination    5. Equal Employment Opportunity    6. Gender & the Law    7. Human Resources & Personnel Management    8. Law and legislation    9. New York    10. New York (State)    11. Sexual harassment of women    12. United States    13. Women & Business    14. Women In Management    15. Women stockbrokers    16. Women's Studies - General    17. Business & Economics / General    18. Business & Economics/Investments & Securities - General    19. Business ethics    20. Equal opportunities    21. Financial services industry    22. Law/Discrimination    23. Law/Gender & the Law    24. Political Science/Labor & Industrial Relations - General    25. Sex & Gender/Feminine    26. Sex discrimination    27. Sex discrimination in employment    28. USA   

Subjects:  1. Discrimination    2. Gender & the Law    3. General    4. Labor & Employment    5. Law    6. Law and legislation    7. Legal Reference / Law Profession    8. Sexual harassment    9. United States    10. Employment & labour law    11. Law / Labor & Employment    12. Social law    13. USA   

Features

• Unabridged

Reviews (5)

A bit outdated
While this book has some important ideas, I found it quite outdated, and thus hard to read.Many of the views stated are sexist by current standards, and some of the theories have been discredited since the book was written.I think this book is best read with a contemporary book to indicate what has changed.

The Nature of Prejudice by Gordon W. Allport
There were things that I both liked and disliked about the book. Gordon W. Allport did a good job at showing you that prejudice is in your life from the very beginning till the very end, no matter who you are. Bringing up the nature vs. nurture debate numerous times made you really think about your own experiences and how you relate to the different situations he is bringing up. At the same time, the book had a tendency to become extremely repetitive and thick to read through. I felt that it got overwhelming and notably boring many times throughout the book, but when you thought back to what you read, you were amazed at what you got out of it. I don't think I would advise anyone to read this book, unless they are planning on taking the book a very little bit at a time, then coming back and picking it up again where they left off.

The Nature of Prejudice by Gordon W. Allport
There were things that I both liked and disliked about the book. Gordon W. Allport did a good job at showing you that prejudice is in your life from the very beginning till the very end, no matter who you are. Bringing up the nature vs. nurture debate numerous times made you really think about your own experiences and how you relate to the different situations he is bringing up. At the same time, the book had a tendency to become extremely repetitive and thick to read through. I felt that it got overwhelming and notably boring many times throughout the book, but when you thought back to what you read, you were amazed at what you got out of it. I don't think I would advise anyone to read this book, unless they are planning on taking the book a very little bit at a time, then coming back and picking it up again where they left off. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - General    2. Discrimination    3. Minority Studies - Race Relations    4. Prejudices    5. Prejudices and antipathies    6. Sociology    7. Jurisprudence & philosophy of law   

Reviews (2)

Roadmap-Employment Discrimination
Excellent!Expounds and lays out the rules arising from case law.Especially helpful if you are using Zimmer's case book.

Roadmap-Employment Discrimination
Excellent!Expounds and lays out the rules arising from case law.Especially helpful if you are using Zimmer's case book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Discrimination    2. Labor & Employment    3. Law    4. Legal Reference / Law Profession    5. Reference    6. Employment & labour law    7. Jurisprudence & General Issues    8. Reference works   

Reviews (1)

An Absolutely Essential Source of Information and Counsel
This is the Fourth Edition of an exceptionally valuable book which was first published in 1991. Weiss has updated his material to accommodate new laws, regulations, and court decisions which are directly relevant to discrimination and EEOC guidelines, employee verification and security, technology issues, sexual harassment, negligent hiring practices, management of people with disabilities, affirmative action, discipline and termination policies and procedures, defamation, violations of privacy, the Family and Medical Leave Act, evaluations and promotions, sex and age discrimination, and labor law.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Discrimination    5. Human Resources & Personnel Management    6. Labor & Employment    7. Labor laws and legislation    8. Management - General    9. Personnel management    10. United States    11. Personnel & human resources management   

Reviews (7)

More than meets the eye
I picked this book up out of curiosity.This book far exceeds the fact that Augusta has a "Men-Only" membership policy.This book is very eye opening in large amount of sexual discrimination that is in the corporate world.Martha Burk does extensive research to back up her claims that we still live in a world that accepts and condones discrimination.
cult of power
Martha Burk writes an extraordinary book about an extraordinary event - how a simple written request of an "old school" golf club to "let women in" turned into a national debate -- a debate that exposed the stubborn underbelly of sexism in the world of golf and in the world of corporate executives, who refused to challenge the "men only" rule at Augusta, the site of America's Master's Tournament.Burk tells the story with enormous credibility, humility, and wit, warning us all, that even in 2005, women better have some "fight" left in us and we might let out a hearty "fore" before we claim we have won the equity battle.A great read - go Martha!

A great introduction to the ideas of feminist theory
Martha Burk's book is easy to read and enjoyable.She makes a clear case for the reality of sex discrimination in a way that is not difficult to understand.The arguement of the book is straigh foward enough that even people who have never been intrested, or believed, in women's rights can appreciate this book while gaining insights into the realities of women's lives in corporate America from a woman who has been there and lived it. "Cult of Power" will not leave you with the feeling of having been lectured to from the one and only correct point of view. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Augusta National Golf Club    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Discrimination    4. General    5. Labor & Employment    6. Sex Discrimination In Employment    7. Sex discrimination against wom    8. Sex discrimination against women    9. Sex discrimination in employme    10. Social Science    11. Sociology    12. United States    13. Women & Business    14. Women And Sports    15. Women's Studies - General    16. Social Science / General   

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business & Financial    3. Business Law    4. Business/Economics    5. Cases    6. Discrimination    7. Discrimination in employment    8. Executives    9. Handbooks, manuals, etc    10. Labor    11. Law and legislation    12. Legal Reference / Law Profession    13. United States    14. Labour economics    15. Law / Business   

Reviews (11)

Unfortunately, this book is fabulous
It's so unfortunate that a book like this has to be written.It's even more upseting that every word is true.The book, strictly speaking, is awesome!Why isn't every newspaper and TV show talking about it?The situations in the book are true I'm sure. The reason I'm sure is because I'm an Assistant Manager and I've lived every one of those situations during my short term in management, and more.Oh the horror stories I could tell!I can't even count how many times my husband has had to be restrained from leaving the house to go have a "chat" with my Store Manager out back of the store.The treatment of women, actually associates in general and especially female managers, by this company is wrong.It's downright criminal.It's also why I'm resigning and giving up.Is Liza writing another book or an update?Is there a way to join the lawsuit?Is there a way to contact Liza?I would really like to know these things because I also have a story to tell.My email is walmartassistantmgr@yahoo.com.

Always Lower Prices - but at what cost?
This is the central question in Featherstone's treatment of the Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. class action lawsuit. Focusing on depositions, sworn testimony and direct personal interviews, Featherstone gets right to the heart of her subject in the first chapter. The anecdotal evidence, supported by ample statistics, demonstrates that something is, indeed, awfully wrong with Wal-Mart and the disparate ways in which it treats its workers.
informative and shocking
Anyone living in the 21st century will be amazed at the content of Selling Women Short; the anecdotes shared by current and former Wal-Mart employees are like something out of Gloria Steinem's worst nightmare circa 1975.Even in the current litigious climate of corporate America, Wal-Mart manages to succeed at completely indoctrinating its "associates" to believe in the "values" of the company, which are as "good ole boy" as they can get.Liza Featherstone's account of the Dukes vs. Wal-Mart class action lawsuit (now certified, still unresolved), the largest in U.S. legal history, makes up for in content what it may lack in an elegant writing style (it's a bit bare bones and stilted at times).The women involved in the lawsuit aren't the typical bleeding-heart liberals that would be easy for Wal-Mart to discredit; they are by and large very religious, relatively conservative women who are trying to get by on very low wages and zero respect.The consistency with which women have been kept to the lowest paying, lowest power positions within the company is nothing less than appalling; using both ample statistics as well as countless personal interviews, Featherstone assaults the reader with a barrage of terrible realities.Many of the employees at Wal-Mart cannot afford to spend 50% of their income on the company health plan, so they end up on state or federal assistance.Women are discouraged from applying to management positions.If this reading this book does not convince you to boycott Wal-Mart, it would be surprising. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Discrimination    2. Industries - Retailing    3. Labor & Industrial Relations - General    4. Law    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Retail Management    7. Sex Discrimination In Employment    8. Sociology    9. Women & Business    10. Women's Studies - General    11. Labour economics    12. Retail sector    13. Women's studies   

Subjects:  1. Cases    2. Civil Law    3. Civil Rights    4. Constitutional    5. Discrimination    6. Discrimination in public accom    7. Discrimination in public accommodations    8. Heart of Atlanta Motel    9. Law    10. Law and legislation    11. Legal Reference / Law Profession    12. McClung, Ollie    13. Political Freedom & Security - Civil Rights    14. Trials, litigation, etc    15. U.S. - Political And Civil Rights    16. United States    17. Civil law (general works)    18. Civil rights & citizenship    19. Constitutional & administrative law    20. USA   

Subjects:  1. Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice    2. Age discrimination in employme    3. Age discrimination in employment    4. Discrimination    5. Labor & Employment    6. Law    7. Law and legislation    8. Legal Reference / Law Profession    9. United States   

Editorial Review

Here is the quintessential American success story: a young African American boy from an inner-city neighborhood makes good and goes to Harvard Law School, then on to a promising career in a prestigious law firm. In Paul M. Barrett's unsettling Read more

Reviews (24)

Told Well
I think Paul Barrett does a brilliant job telling the story, particularly in the way he presents every single issue and weakness, not just Mungin's issues or the firm's weaknesses. He does not clearly take Mungin's side throughout the whole book, even in the conclusion. Some might disagree, but the conclusion appears to me as Barrett giving his analysis of Mungin's situation with the firm from the perspective of one with a law degree. To be honest with you, I think Barrett should have represented Mungin--Barrett has a right-on understanding of the case and the situation and makes several points that Mungin's lawyer should have made. As a law student, I had been reading the chapters detailing the courtroom experience, wondering why Mungin's lawyer Hairston was not bottom-lining the situation by saying that Mungin was enthusiastically hired to be a token, not to do work of substance for Katten Muchin. In the end, Barrett hit that point on the head--Mungin was simply a token to Katten Muchin. They brought him in, paid him to do next to nothing and then didn't want to let him go even though there was next to no work for him to do, while they let other whites go...because they knew they would be losing a token and losing in the minority retention game. Mungin's lawyer acted like she couldn't figure any of this out, among other questions she should have been able to answer during the trials, or answered but could have answered better. She had to know that she was going to be questioned about why Katten Muchin would hire Mungin because of race and then discriminate against him. She is part of the reason why he lost one of the two trials surrounding this case, the other parts being there was no in-your-face racism and the judges being conservatives hell-bent against finding racism in the situation. In the other trial, which Mungin did win, it was not at all because his lawyer was so good...it had more to do with the defense lawyer being awful and the jury being black, except for one person. I'll leave those who haven't read the book yet to read it and find out which trial he won and which one he lost.
Good book, but how compelling is it?
As one interested in the law, I really enjoyed this book. But I also found it hard to empathize with the author. I agree that a lot of discrimination within the workplace still exists in the United States, but much of this book came across to me as "whining" why the other guy (who happens to be white) makes 115,000 a year, while he (the black author) "only" makes 95,000 a year. Discrimination? Perhaps, but he is still better off (regardless of if he'll ever make partner at some firm or not) than the vast majority of Americans, or people across the world for that matter. "The Good Black" is just another chapter in America's continuing struggle with race.

If Only Life Were Fair
After graduating from Harvard College, Mungin was determined to gain admission to Harvard Law School and to achieve status and wealth by gaining partnership in a big city law firm.Unfortunately, he never made it.Barrett, his Harvard Law School roommate, tells Mungin's story with remarkable insight and sympathy.In truth, Mungin was a less than distinguished law student, a less than enthusiastic lawyer, and a less than happily adjusted person.Yet given his abilities and credentials, it is hard to believe that Mungin would not have made partner at one of the four firms he tried, had he not been black.That is what an entirely black jury in the District of Columbia concluded in awarding him 2.5 million dollars. And yet the racism at Mungin's last firm was subtle and unintended.Mungin should have further persisted if the brass ring was all that counted. Are we as a society to award compensation to everyone who fails to reach their highest ambition when--as JFK found it so easy to say--"life is not fair?"The court of appeals decided otherwise.To my mind, Barrett has, perhaps unintentionally, very powerfully illustrated why. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Afro-American lawyers    2. Case studies    3. Discrimination    4. Discrimination in employment    5. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General    6. Law and legislation    7. Minority Studies - Race Relations    8. Social Science    9. Sociology    10. United States    11. Washington (D.C.)    12. Social Science / General