NYT: Sotomayor and women in law

Just read a great article in today's New York Times about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Comparing last week's events with the 1991 hearings of Justice Clarence Thomas, the article has an interesting take on women and the judicial process.

After four days of questioning, the hearings ended last week. A Senate vote will likely be scheduled for August.

Food for thought from the Times:

In 1991, there were no women on the Judiciary Committee; today there are just 2 among the 19 members. One of them is Dianne Feinstein, elected in 1992 as part of the so-called Anita Hill class, which brought a record number of women to the House (47) and Senate (6). Senator Feinstein noted that when Judge Sotomayor graduated from Yale Law in 1979, there had never been a woman on the Supreme Court and that although women represent 50.7 percent of the population, 48 percent of law school graduates and 30 percent of American lawyers, there are now only 17 women in the Senate and one on the Supreme Court.

“So we’re making progress, but we’re not there yet,” Ms. Feinstein said.