Women Law Students’ Descriptions of Self and the Ideal Lawyer

This study employed the Adjective Check List to assess descriptions of self and ideal lawyer among women law students in terms of sex-trait stereotypes and need structures. When compared to a sample of female undergraduates, the law students exhibited more self-confidence and autonomy. However, the law students perceived the ideal lawyer to be more rational and less emotional than themselves. While the female law students and female undergraduates had theoretically feminine self-descriptions, the law students’ perception of the ideal lawyer was relatively quite masculine. It was proposed that the perception of the legal profession as requiring primarily masculine traits may affect the self-selection of women into the field and may limit the occupational aspirations of women within the profession.