Dear CWBA Family,
I am proud and honored to carry the gavel as the 47th President of the Colorado Women’s Bar Association. As I shared at our Annual Dinner and Passing of the Gavel Ceremony, my path to leading this organization is different than many Presidents who came before me. Yet there is a commonality that we all share. We all love this amazing organization, and we are called to lead it because our values align with the mission to advance women as leaders in the law and the rights of women generally.
The political and social climate of the last several years have left our communities divided and afraid. Our rights as women and the rights of marginalized communities have been under attack and slowly chipped away. Now more than ever, we need the CWBA community to continue to fight for women, for the rights of all women and children, and for our values.
The CWBA theme for 2024-25 is Shine Your Truth. I can’t think of better way for women to advance our presence as leaders and our rights than to shine a light on the real stories of our lives.
Shining our collective truth means speaking out about experiences that have made the practice of law less manageable for women and more so for women of color. Have you ever been in a meeting where you were asked to make copies, being mistaken for an administrative assistant? I know many of us have. And in those moments, having an ally speak up can make a world of difference. Or perhaps you’ve been in a courthouse without a safe space to pump except the public restroom. As I am sure you all know, and have lived, the list goes on and on. I believe it is important for all of us to share our Tales from the Trenches, whether on this Blog, at our events or at the legislature. By sharing our truth, we can create a larger spotlight and be a catalyst for change.
Shining our truth means being vulnerable enough to share our fears so that we may empower and lift each other up. As I shared in my Convention acceptance speech, I wasn’t always brave enough to share my fears. I navigated the world feeling inadequate and unworthy of the achievements I had reached throughout my life. Today, I feel blessed to be able to share those fears with our members and the community because I know I am not alone. Women often shy away from a job opportunity because we don’t check off every single box or don’t volunteer for the tough assignment for fear of being viewed as presumptuous. Listening to stories of what other women have faced has helped and empowered me to carve my own path. I am certain that by sharing our fears and being vulnerable, we can help lift our members up and empower them to work past those fears.
Shining our truth means speaking up against injustice in our workplaces, in the court room, and in the law. According to survey data from the National Association for Law Placement, in 2023 women associates outnumbered male associates for the first time. Despite this growth, women partners make up only 27.76% of all partners in 2023, with Black and Latina women each accounting for more than 1% for the first time in 2023. Similarly, while Colorado has consistently ranked highly for the number of women that hold elected offices, women of color continue to be significantly underrepresented. Additionally, Colorado has never had a woman governor, U.S Senator or mayor of Denver. Representation at every level matters, and we need to continue to actively work to advance our mission.
Shining our truth means collectively educating our communities about the silent cries of women across our communities who perform the often-thankless work of being mothers, caretakers, and community leaders. According to PBS News, 1 in 6 Americans is older than 65 today, and that number is projected to rise to 1 in 4 by 2050. So as our need for medical and other support grows for our parents and grandparents, women are bearing the brunt of the burden of caring for them, with women making up almost 60% of unpaid caregivers and over 80% of pain in-home caregivers for seniors. Many women are living with unsustainably full plates and failing to care for themselves. We need to advocate for each other and insist on putting on our own oxygen masks before we jump in to help.
This year we pull up our boot straps in our never-ending work to advance women in and under the law. Let us not forget to Shine Our Truth, the Truth of those who may not have a chance to speak up on their own. Because when you Shine Your Truth, you bring light to a world filled with darkness. Join me in embodying our theme and Shine Your Truth. Let’s Shine so bright, they can’t ignore our Truth!
With love and gratitude,
Carime A. Lee
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