Care to improve the conversation? Bar responds to YLD survey detailing gender bias in the legal profession.

Kim Cook, Sedgwick's Miami office managing partner, was proud to be sworn in as the first female president of the Miami Chapter of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

At the recent swearing-in ceremony, some man sitting in the back of the room belted out this joke: "I thought you were a waitress!"

"Funny, right?" said Florida Bar President Ramon Abadin and Cook's husband. "Not really. I'm concerned that this is what my wife faces, and my daughter may face."

More than two decades ago, when Cook was seven and a half months pregnant with their second son, she tried a case to trial and got a defense verdict, Abadin said, describing how she took maternity leave, had the baby, and came back to work, only to be asked by her partner: "How did you enjoy your vacation?"

"That was a long time ago, but here we are again. How come things haven't changed? It is personal to me," Abadin told the Board of Governors on March 11, as he showed them a presentation that he is giving to Florida Association for Women Lawyers affiliates around the state called, "Care to Improve the Conversation?"

And really improving the conversation, Abadin said, will be packing the room with men, instead of preaching to the choir.

It's The Florida Bar's response to the sobering statistics revealed in a Young Lawyers Division survey of young women lawyers: 43 percent of respondents said they had experienced gender bias during their careers; 37 percent said they had experienced a lack of recognition of work-life balance at their law firms; 21 percent believe they are not paid the same as their male counterparts.

"These numbers are dramatic," Abadin said. "One percent is unacceptable, but 43 percent is borderline unconscionable, particularly in 2016."

Beyond numbers, the survey respondents reported being mistaken for court reporters and being referred to as "blondie" and "little lady." The March 1 Florida Bar News story about the survey was posted online and through social networking has been viewed more than 60,000 times, said YLD President Gordon Glover.

"This is all near and dear to FAWL's heart," said Kristin Ann Norse, president of Florida Association for Women Lawyers. "The survey results probably were not as shocking for some of our members as they were for other lawyers. Although to see it continuing to happen for younger lawyers is distressing."

She was at the Central Florida chapter of FAWL when Abadin gave his first presentation, and in a roomful of about 200 women...