FIU Law Review Editor-in-Chief Courtney Walter (on left) and Executive Symposium Editor Erin Auble introduce the panelists.
Why is there a strong presence of women in higher education, but the highest positions of power and prestige in law firms and corporations are still occupied by men?
That was the overarching question asked of the panelists at FIU College of Law’s Annual Law Review Symposium. The symposium, “Minding the Gap: Reflections on the Achievement Gap Between Men and Women in the Workplace in 2013,” took place Friday, March 1, at the Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall.
The first panel, “Mapping the Gap” acclimated the audience with statistics and studies which discussed the presence of women in universities and how these statistics translate to the highest positions of power. Additionally, the panelists provided their perspectives of why this gap exists.
The second panel, “Ill-Fitting Frameworks: Critiques of Judicial, Governmental, and Societal Responses to the Gap,” provided insight as to what issues are currently being handled by the government, and what needs to be changed while moving forward to rectify or eliminate the achievement gap.
The third panel, “Challenging Assumptions,” addressed how the gap might be attributed to other societal issues within our culture.
“We are especially proud of this year’s Law Review symposium. With Professor Stone’s assistance, we were able to attract many renowned employment discrimination scholars,” said Courtney Walter, Editor-in-Chief of the FIU Law Review.
When asked about the significance of the symposium, and specifically regarding the panelists, Professor Kerri Stone said,”We were thrilled to bring so many nationally renowned scholars to the College of Law to have this very important and timely conversation. I can’t tell you how many of them have expressed to me just how impressed they were with our students, in terms of their enthusiasm for employment law, the thoughtfulness and incisiveness of their questions and comments, and their professionalism as hosts.”
Panelists hailed from such institutions as the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, University of Richmond School of Law, University of Cincinnati College of Law, Boyd School of Law of the University of Nevada, Saint Louis University School of Law, and the Florida International Univeristy College of Law, among others.
“The goal was to have a high level of scholarly discussion coupled with our law students’ enthusiasm, and we were able to exceed all expectations. Our upcoming issue will be a true testament to this symposium’s legacy,” said Walter.
The FIU Law Review is a student-run organization responsible for producing a journal of scholarly legal works. As a symposium-based law review, there issues are composed of articles addressing a particular area of the law with authors often participating in a live symposium before publication.
Photos from the symposium can be viewed here
