A Conversation with Joan Williams on Legally Speaking


8232Gender equality is nothing new. It gained public attention in the 1960s with the rebirth of the feminist movement. During that time, the typical worker was a man, married to a homemaker, who worked long hours for forty years without a break. While the workforce has changed, several decades later, the masculine ideal worker stereotype still exists.

Professor Joan C. Williams, one of the nation’s most cited experts on women and work, has played a central role in reshaping the debates over gender, class, and work-family issues.

Professor Williams has been described by The New York Times as having “something approaching rock star status.” For more than a quarter of a century, her work in the areas of pregnancy discrimination and work-family accommodation have helped define the issue of gender equality under the law.

In August, Hastings colleague Veena Dubal spoke with Williams about her career and about what she thinks American businesses must do to achieve more gender equality. This program is part of a series of in-depth interviews with prominent lawyers, judges, and academics presented by UC Hastings College of the Law and California Lawyer.

Watch A Conversation with Joan Williams and browse more Legally Speaking programs.