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Abstract

This study investigated the employment status of the mothers and the role models selected by 154 women lawyers who had graduated from law school at different periods of time between 1920 and 1979. Recent women graduates of law school with fewer years of practice tend to come from traditional families with a homemaker mother while lawyers with professional mothers graduated from law school at an earlier point in time and had completed more years of practice. Lawyers from homemaker mothers and nonprofessional fathers did not usually select their parents as role models. The results are discussed and related to earlier research conclusions on the effect of maternal employment on daughters' career aspirations and achievements and to recent trends regarding the increased participation of women in professional careers.

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Women Lawyers: The Employment Status of Their Mothers and the Role Models They Select

Abstract

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