September 9, 2020

Gender Inequity: Part One, with Andie Kramer

Episode 60:

Andie Kramer is a partner at an international law firm. Alongside her demanding legal career, she has become a nationally known advocate for women’s advancement. Because mentorship opportunities for young executive and professional women are often limited, she co-founded the Women’s Leadership and Mentoring Alliance (WLMA) and has developed numerous women-specific leadership training programs.

Andie is the recipient of a long list of accolades and awards for both achievements in her legal career and her advocacy of women. Among her accolades is being named on National Law Review’s 50 most influential women lawyers in America for her “demonstrated power to change the legal landscape, shape public affairs, launch industries, and do big things.”

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • How making the transition from a tiny law firm to a large international firm opened Andie’s eyes to the realities of gender inequity
  • How the men at Andie’s firm would give themselves glowing praise in their self-evaluations but the women would credit the entire team in theirs
  • Why Andie is releasing the second edition of her book focusing more on the increased prevalence of explicit bias since the election of Donald Trump
  • Why there are certain communication techniques women are hesitant to use, and how using a sense of humor to navigate situations can be a powerful tool
  • How implicit gender bias typically shows up in the workplace, and why women must walk a careful tightrope between “nice, kind and sweet” and “competent and confident”
  • How women often have to adapt to situations to be able to navigate through the workplace, and how to do so in an authentic, true-to-yourself way
  • What suggestions and advice Andie would offer to women experiencing gender bias in the workplace
  • Why men must understand that the workplace isn’t a perfect meritocracy, and why men have a responsibility to help solve these issues
  • Why men shouldn’t just be a part of the conversation but should be starting the conversation when they identify problems

Additional resources: