Pat Gillette on Diversity in the Board Room
The mediator has been speaking about diversity for 40+ years, and has reasons for optimism
Super Lawyers online-exclusive
By Trevor Kupfer on July 5, 2017
When she’s not mediating cases with JAMS in San Francisco, Pat Gillette is probably speaking about diversity—she does so at about 40 events per year. She worked as an employment lawyer for more than 40 years, watching as corporations made more progress than law firms, which still have a long way to go in her view. She has reasons for hope, however, as she explains here.
Gillette’s story was also featured in the 2017 issue of Northern California Super Lawyers.
“I had a guy who’s the chair of a major firm stand up in a room with 100 people and say, ‘Why should I care about this? I’ve got 100 white males I can hire any day. Why should I care about diversity?’ … It’s not that [women] aren’t capable; it’s that they’re not being given the opportunity—because white men are making the decisions.”
Pat Gillette
Search attorney feature articles
Helpful links
Other featured articles
How Tara Knight and Hugh Keefe became Connecticut’s criminal law power couple
Seven perennial Super Lawyers listees on the last two decades of life and law
The language used in the initial ruling, they say, is disturbing and troubling
Find top lawyers with confidence
The Super Lawyers patented selection process is peer influenced and research driven, selecting the top 5% of attorneys to the Super Lawyers lists each year. We know lawyers and make it easy to connect with them.
Find a lawyer near you