An insightful (and concerned) colleague of mine has noted the paucity of female participants in this mobblog – and for her it reflects, more generally, the ways in which women’s voices are underrepresented in the law school community. So let me throw up a surely controversial idea for discussion. Is there a place for a single sex, women’s law school? Might it have secondary effects on student participation, faculty-student interaction, and development of both analytical skills and community commitments? Could it eventually lead to increased numbers of women in leadership positions within both law and the legal academy? Or perhaps…a more gender diverse legal blogitariat?
The folks from Smith College certainly would think so:
In a recent study by Indiana University’s Center for Postsecondary Research, far more students at women’s colleges reported having regular interaction with faculty members than those at coed institutions. They also reported with greater frequency that their colleges helped them learn more about themselves, hone their quantitative analysis skills and develop a desire to help their communities.
Cross listed at madisonian.net.
Very interesting post, Dan. But the problem of gender imbalance appears throughout the internet. In Solove's census, aren't legal academic bloggers something like 75% male?
I'd be fine with a single-sex law school for women – go for it…….as long as the feminist movement would be fine with an all-male law school which chooses to exclude all females for no other reason than yes, their gender.
Even though the females would be able to exclusively prohibit men, somehow I think this whole concept wouldn't fly. Every time there is an attempt at something like this, the double-standard of the radical feminists emerges: It's fine for females to exclude men, but not the other way around.
We want women to become MORE involved in our society – so by having them further alienate themselves from the rest of the populous in such an exclusive all-female institution, I doubt it would actually advance their cause.
In Israel there are single sex programs for both men and women.