Quindaro Cheatham is preparing for challenges as she pursues a legal career.
What you probably already know: Women make up nearly half of the legal profession, but they remain significantly underrepresented in leadership roles, according to a report from the International Bar Association (IBA). The report surveyed 5,000 women across 100 jurisdictions and found that many of the challenges facing women in law remain familiar: Gender bias, caregiving responsibilities, pay inequity and burnout continue to create barriers to advancement. Survey respondents pointed to workplace flexibility and mentorship as two of the most important tools for career growth, but many said existing programs don’t go far enough. They called for greater pay transparency, stronger mental health resources and workplace structures that better support caregivers.
Why it matters: For Quindaro Cheatham, a Formidable member and Boise-based legal professional currently preparing for the bar exam, the report’s findings reflect both what she’s seen and what she expects to encounter. Earlier in her career, when she was “young, unattached and work was my life,” Cheatham remembers a workplace culture that was welcoming but also carried an assumption that young women would eventually leave to marry and have children. Now, as a single mother of two teenagers, she wonders whether she may face a different version of that same assumption, one that is rarely applied to men in similar circumstances. “I’m wondering if I will encounter some of those same issues of, ‘Oh, well, you’re a single mom, you know, you may not be able to spend the time,’” she says. “Whereas they would never ask that of a single dad.”
What it means: Nearly 60% of respondents said flexible work arrangements have become more common since the pandemic, but many also said using those options can still be perceived as a lack of commitment. Cheatham says she has not personally experienced that stigma but has watched classmates navigate it. She describes a legal culture where being the first person in and the last out can still be viewed as the unofficial measure of dedication — a standard she calls “bonkers,” especially as younger lawyers, both men and women, increasingly question it. She credits Boise’s legal community, where firms are generally smaller and less tied to the traditional “big law” model, with giving attorneys more flexibility to build careers differently. At Idaho Employment Lawyers, where she works as a temporary associate, she says the firm has intentionally moved away from the high-billable-hour, competitive culture often associated with large firms and toward a more collaborative approach.
What happens next: The IBA report found that nearly two-thirds of respondents balance legal work with caring for dependents, yet only a small percentage have access to formal workplace support. Cheatham speaks openly about the advantage of being able to hire help while she was in law school and how uncommon that kind of support can be. “This is why the patriarchy has existed as long as it has,” she says. “It’s great to come home and the kids are happy and there’s a meal on the table.” Cheatham is careful to acknowledge that she has not yet experienced every challenge she anticipates facing. But that uncertainty is part of the larger issue the IBA report highlights. Creating a more equitable legal profession is not only about addressing the barriers women have already encountered. It is also about changing the systems and assumptions women are preparing to face.
