NYC’s only women DAs talk sexism and diversity

Katz discussed some of her philosophies for running the Queens District Attorney Office on Monday night. Eagle photo by Victoria Merlino

By Victoria Merlino

By the time she ran for Brooklyn district attorney in 1981, Elizabeth Holtzman had served in Congress, participated in President Richard Nixon’s impeachment investigation and graduated from Harvard University's School of Law. But that still wasn’t enough for the sexist naysayers who didn’t think a woman could serve as the county’s top prosecutor.

“People came up to me and said to me, ‘You know Liz, we love you. We voted for you. We voted for you for the House of Representatives. You’re a great congresswoman. We voted for you for Senate. DA? That’s not a job for a woman.’ They said that to me explicitly,” Holtzman told the audience at John Jay College of Criminal Justice Monday night. 

Holtzman went on to be the first woman elected DA in New York City, but changing the minds of voters was only the first step. Changing the minds of institutions, she said, was another thing entirely. 

“The chief judge of the Supreme Court of Kings County, Brooklyn, said, ‘Liz Holtzman, she can’t get over being a woman.’” Holtzman recalled. “I mean, what am I supposed to do? … Go in camouflage?” 

In honor of Women’s History Month, Holtzman joined the only other two women to ever serve as DAs in New York City, current Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and current Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, for a panel at John Jay. The three prosecutors sat down for the first time ever in conversation and discussed the challenges that come with being a woman and a DA.

Katz said she also faced “fascinating” comments when running for DA in 2018 and 2019 despite already serving in public office for years in both city and state government positions. 

“I found the district attorney’s race fascinating. The amount of times that I heard, ‘Ya know, it’s a big job.’ ‘Really? Maybe I shouldn’t run,’” Katz said sarcastically. 

“I don’t know what people expected from those comments,” she continued. 

One of the most “fascinating” comments Katz received was the concern that her work as a prosecutor would put the safety of her young children in jeopardy, despite men loving their children and doing the work just fine.

The women discussed how important diversity is to their offices, and how district attorneys should look to the communities they serve when hiring staff.  

“I’m hiring people from the community that care about the community,” Clark said, noting the importance of establishing pipelines from colleges like John Jay into places like her office in order to net a diverse set of students and ideas. 

“It’s very important that the people in the county see people that look like themselves working in the DA’s office,” Clark added.