“Mr. Vice President, I’m Speaking” An Exploration of Political Ambition, Communication Dynamics, and the Creation of Safe Spaces Among Women in Law

Blending the theoretical foundations of gendered political socialization (Bos et. al 2021) with the distinct communication patterns observed between male and female justices on the United States Supreme Court (Schweers & Jacobi, 2017).– this participant observer study seeks to analyze the mechanisms of gendered communication within a unique population of men and women– law students. Throughout this study, I explore the mechanisms that dictate gendered ambition levels within a group of highly ambitious individuals. Additionally, I examine gendered communication patterns and the impact of digital safe spaces in the classroom setting. On the whole, I aim to investigate gendered communication levels within the microcosm of the law school environment to gain a more realistic and granular understanding of the interplay between ambition and gender in the field of law. Overall, I find that women are disproportionately interrupted by men in an attempt to maintain male hegemony, ultimately stifling female voices in the classroom. While the creation of safe spaces for women can begin to mitigate the negative downstream effects of interruption, womens’ ideas, and ultimately female agency, is negatively affected by repeated patterns of male behavior.