Queens female judges and lawyers still see sexism in the courts
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Queens’ top judge Marguerite Grays joined a panel of women in law to discuss her experiences. Eagle file photo by Caroline Ourso
By Rachel Vick
Female lawyers and judges from across Queens gathered to share their experiences with sexism in the courts and to discuss the path to progress during a special program hosted by two Queens legal associations Monday.
The Queens County Bar and Women’s Bar Associations came together for the first time in 2021 to host “Trailblazing Women: Celebrating Women in the Law, Past and Present, an event celebrating Women’s History Month while reflecting on persistent misogyny facing some of the borough’s top jurists.
“The legal profession has changed in certain respects but does remain the same in many others. As a young attorney and woman you struggle,” said Queens Supreme Court Administrative Judge Marguerite Grays. “Some memories were not as distant as others.”
Grays made her comments following a screening of “Blazing A Trail, Pioneering Women Judges of the Third Judicial District,” which chronicles the experiences of women who broke the court system glass ceiling in and around Albany. Grays and other panelists at the event said they could relate to the experiences of the women in the film.
Justice Margaret Parisi McGowan, another event panelist, said she recently had to tell a male attorney appearing before her that he needed to speak to the opposing female attorney more professionally.
“Last week, I was a little upset because a female attorney, who is incredibly competent — and I shouldn't have to say that — and she was very upset at how she was being spoken to,” she said. “This was two weeks ago and I can't believe it's still going on.”
Other panelists included Judge Claudia Lanzetta, QCWBA President Soma Syed and attorney Diana Gianturco. They shared common experiences of being misidentified as a client or facing condescension from their male counterparts. The panelists also agreed that being called sexist pet names, like “honey,” was exhausting.
Gianturco said she once told off a male attorney who called her an unprofessional nickname. She said she responded by calling him “big boy” and ”he realized how inappropriate it was when I did it to him,” Gianturco said.
“It makes me feel good as a person and a woman to be on a panel honoring women,” she added. “I'm a little emotional about it because it has been a long road.”
A November 2020 report issued by the state court system revealed the biases women face at all levels of the state court system, nearly 35 years after an initial landmark report on gender discrimination.
The report, based on an online survey completed by over 5,300 attorneys, found that women encounter obstacles like sexual harassment, fewer appointments for female attorneys, a lack of childcare and the treatment of domestic violence, rape and prostitution cases.
Conditions have improved since the initial report in 1986, including a surge in the number of women judges presiding across New York, many problems persist, the committee behind the report said.
Ten percent of female respondents, for example, said they had experienced unwelcome physical contact by other attorneys “very often or often” while 36 percent said it occurred at least “sometimes.” Seventeen percent of court personnel also said that unwelcome contact occurs “sometimes.”
Attorney Kristen Dubowski Barba, the event moderator, said the forum was important for highlighting the women who have blazed trails in the Queens legal community, and the work that still has to be done to achieve equity.
“We wanted to celebrate the women in the legal profession that have paved the way to help get us where we are today and are still paving the way” she said.
