There are other issues besides balance of life values. The symbol of the law is a blindfolded woman holding the scales of justice in balance. We often focus on the scales, but the real issue is the blindfold on the woman.

The law has been a source of left brain function - As Det. Friday was fond of saying, the facts, just the facts. But women are not trained to suppress their emotions like men are and so are free to express themselves emotionally, which is not necessarily the best way to practice law as it is currently structured. However, the wise woman at the council fire may be a better model in the future! :-)

A study by the National Ass'n of Women Lawyers came up with that? What a surprise. C'mon Dan, we were both at the same big firm at the same time. Name one woman lawyer there who chose the same career path, with the same work ethic, and the same life choices, that didn't equal or exceed their male counterpart. It's all about apples and oranges, and statistics that can reveal anything the fact-gatherer wants it to.

OK, so here we go - two males responding: One saying women aren't really capable, the other that women don't want to play.

While my hypothesis includes some of the latter, my experience is that there's often a significant difference in treatment of women in predominantly male organizational cultures.

Some firms have addressed the gap postively - not enough though to tip the balance yet. See, for example, the recently updated report: "Presumed Equal: What America's Top Women Lawyers Really Think About Their Firms."