The Color of Law School: Examining Gender and Race Intersectionality in Law School Admissions

Abstract

Purpose: Law schools are gatekeepers to powerful positions, including US federal judicial systems and legislative branches. Although scholars have addressed underrepresentation of women and racial minorities in law schools and the legal profession, they tend to examine gender and race separately. This study is a critical quantitative analysis of law school admissions among women of color. Research Methods/Approach: We use an intersectionality framework, weighted effect coding, marginal effects, predicted probabilities, and multilevel models to examine admissions data from 25 public law schools. Findings: Unlike Black men, Black women did not receive the full strength of the independent positive relationship between being Black and law school admission, and their access to legal education varies across institutional rankings. Implications: These findings provide quantitative evidence for the importance of the concept of intersectionality—not just for examining multiple individual identities but also how intersected identities matter during selective admissions processes across institutional rankings.