Third-year Penn Law student, Allyson Reynolds, discussed her role in the legal profession as a female on the first episode of the "Feminist Podcast Series". (Photo from Allyson Reynolds)
Two Penn Law School students have created a “Feminism Podcast Series” to share perspectives on what feminism means to women in the legal profession.
The first episode, “What Feminism Means to Me,” features a discussion between two third-year Penn Law students — Allyson Reynolds and Meredith Christian — about barriers for women in the legal field and the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court hearings. The students will release four more monthly episodes this semester.
“It’s been a really exciting opportunity to advance gender equality today, particularly in the legal field,” Reynolds said.
The Penn Law Global Women’s Leadership Project, or GLWP, launched the student-hosted podcast on Dec. 10 in light of Human Rights Day and the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly.
Christian said her law classes have helped her better understand feminist theory, even thanks to some challenges to her beliefs. She said she was grateful for the ability to engage in complex conversations about current political and feminist issues.
But Christian added that she wished legal education were already part of primary and secondary education in the United States, which would allow for greater understanding of feminist thought.
“I think you can’t really understand the full complexity of issues if you’re missing that kind of [legal] context," Christian said.
Upon graduating from Penn and entering the workforce, Christian hopes to make structural changes within law firms to provide more opportunities for women. She hopes to promote access to maternal leave and adequate childcare and ensure that women can move up the ranks at firms.
Rangita de Silva de Alwis, Penn Law’s associate dean for international programs and founding director of the GLWP, said the podcast could spark conversations and pose questions about the role of law schools in advancing gender justice.
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