Times have certainly changed. No longer are males the primary gender performing high level professional positions like practicing law.
In 2016, for the first time in history, more women were enrolled in the JD law program than males. According to The New York Times and the infographic, the number of females interested in pursuing a legal career has exploded in recent years.
The JD degree paves the way for individuals to take the state bar exam and practice law in the state in which they reside. Below are some of the results that were found from research regarding women in the law programs:
- The Eastern and Southern parts of the U.S. have the greatest fluctuation of women into law schools.
- Brigham Young University and The Appalachian School of Law have the fewest number of female law students.
- The state of Illinois has the lowest number of female enrollees into the JD law program.
- 16 out of 20 of California’s law schools have a higher number of female enrollees than male.
- The law programs at North Carolina Central University and Howard University are comprised of over 60% females.
- Currently, there are 55,766 females and 55,059 males in the JD programs across all states.
Many new restrictions have been placed on law schools, according to The New York Times:
“The new requirement restricts the leeway schools have for accepting promising students who do not meet standard admission measures including test scores and grade point averages.”
Therefore, whether male or female, it seems as if the challenge for admittance into law school may increase.