Balanced IntLawGrrls?

It seems appropriate on a day that marks the anniversary of Justice O’Connor’s nomination to reflect on the complexities that women face in achieving balance. We’ve come a long way since no law firm would hire as a lawyer a woman who eventually served on the Supreme Court. And yet women who pursue careers in international law as academics and practitioners still face a range of pressures, often very subtle, that can make them feel on the verge of being torn apart. Because of lingering traditional career expectations, we tend to struggle more with mobility in our dual career households. Our biological clocks tick faster than those of our male contemporaries, and we feel conflicting pressures to be in traditional family arrangements and to avoid obstacles to rising careers. Those of us who are not paired feel social pressure to have a family, and those of us who have chosen versions of family that don’t fit married, heterosexual models constantly face legal and cultural obstacles. If we have young children, we tend to face more skepticism about whether we can travel and more criticism if we do.
Each of us charts our own path through these minefields and a rich scholarly literature explores these issues in depth. Moreover, men face their own variation of these struggles, especially when they make non-traditional choices. My husband, for example, faces constant pressure to “get a job” rather than writing and focusing on our child.
For the purposes of this reflection, however, I want to open up a more specific dialogue. As a member of a cohort of women ranging roughly from their early thirties to mid-forties, I have observed many women in both practice and academia struggle to achieve simultaneous personal and professional fulfillment. They make different choices in difficult moments, but the net result is that they often seem precariously balanced. How can law schools and firms recognize and support these small and large struggles more effectively? How can we individually help one another through these moments?