Almost every Friday morning I volunteer for the Thurston County Housing Justice Project where we counsel and represent tenants during the unlawful detainer calendar (evictions court). I like it because I am a young lawyer so getting face time in front of a judge is great experience and the people we represent appreciate any help they can get. The other lawyers who volunteer with me are caring and dedicated and generally amazing people who I learn from every time I volunteer. I say this because this story is about entrenched and unconscious gender stereotypes that everyone has, even the most enlightened people.
There is a tiny room off the law library in the Thurston County Superior Courthouse where we are allowed to run our clinic. At the end of this particular day three other volunteers and I were finishing up paperwork and waiting for the last cases to be called by the judge. I was just about to get ready to leave when a woman came running in carrying her daughter and a folder bursting with papers, “You’ve got to help me, I can’t get evicted…” We all straightened up, put on our thinking caps, and invited her to sit down and tell us her story. Our administrator left the room to tell the judge that we had a late arrival and to please give us 10 minutes before he called her case.
For the next 10 minutes we questioned her about her case and came up with some desperate arguments to take before the judge. When we entered the courtroom the woman tried to sit down in the gallery with me and the other two lawyers who weren’t arguing her case. The lead attorney informed her that she would have to stand with him before the judge.
She looked at him and asked, “Can my daughter come with me?”
“Uhh, no.” he told her, “She should really sit back here.”
At that point all three male attorneys and the client turned and looked at me. Now, I never expected to represent this woman when there were 3 other lawyers with as many years of legal experience combined as all the years I’ve been alive. What I found note-worthy was that there was no hesitation by anyone about who was stuck with childcare, despite there being two other choices.
I’m not upset about this, in fact the little girl was absolutely great. We drew pictures together on a scrap of paper while I tried to listen to what was going on with the case. When we got out of the courtroom she gave me a hug while her mom graciously thanked me.
The reason they all looked to me could have been because I am the most junior attorney, but I suspect that if I had been a man around my age they would have looked to the more mature guy with children. In this instance it was no big deal to watch a little girl while the plaintiff tried to evict her mom. I want to give what a client needs, and at that moment what she needed was someone who could entertain her 3 year old for 15 minutes.
When everything was over, I walked away feeling alternatively good about the small part I played in helping someone through a difficult time and melancholy about the client’s situation. I don’t feel bad about the assumption that because I’m a woman I can take care of children. But I am aware of it. So I wonder, does this small incident foreshadow future assumptions that will be made throughout the rest of my career?
