In 2020, we celebrated the First Centennial that women have been admitted to study and practice law in many „Western" countries. They play a vital role in all legal professions but are still underrepresented in most of them.

The course "Women in Law - Contemporary Issues" analyzes the current situation of women in legal professions and raises awareness in female students and male allies for challenges and obstacles women face in their legal careers. We will embed the dicussion on gender in a broad perspective on diversity and explicitly invite students of all genders to join us. 

It focuses on 4 areas, which will be discussed in an interdisciplinary setting:

1. Women’s rights
   • The importance of international treaties for the protection and global advancement of women with a special focus on the Istanbul Convention and CEDAW. 
   • How can (female*) legal professionals contribute to the improvement of women’s rights? 
2. New work
   • digitization, automation, AI, work-life-blending, collaboration, remote work, agility – Quo vadis, (women* in the) legal professions? 
   • How will we shape the future of work in the legal professions? Which role will women* play in the implementation of new work? How can companies in the legal world become more, open-minded, agile, efficient, and innovative? How can women* in law combine professional development with personal growth? 
   • What does the legal workplace look like in the future? Including a critical analysis of platform-work
3. Anti-Discrimination 
   • (un)conscious biases
   • Eliminating microaggressions and micro-discriminations as a way to achieve gender equality in the legal professions
   • Gender Equality 2.0: What does an inclusive workplace look like in the legal field? What are the benefits of intersectional, interdisciplinary teams? 
4. Career planning
   • They have shattered glass ceilings, overcome bias, put in more work and hours than everyone else to reach their goals. Now, how do these women at the top defend and hold their well-earned positions? 
   • How can intergenerational support look like and why does it make all women* stronger? Focus on mentoring and networking

regular presence (in both online and in-person sessions)

presence, presentation (45%), short paper (= handout) (30%), and active participation (25%)