Top U.S. market for female attorneys: Denver

Here are the top 10 markets with the highest percentage of women partners (with percentage of women partners indicated parenthetically):

1. Denver (28.1%)
2. Detroit area (26%)
3. San Francisco (25.7%)
4. Seattle area (25.4%)
5. Minneapolis (24.9%)
6. Miami (24.4%)
7. Ft. Lauderdale/W. Palm Beach (24%)
8. Wilmington (23.8%)
9. Milwaukee (23%)
10. Portland, OR area (23%)

Here are the top 10 markets with the highest percentage of minority partners (with percentage of minority partners indicated parenthetically):

1. Miami (29.5%)
2. San Jose area (15.3%)
3. Los Angeles area (13.8%)
4. Orange Co., CA (13.2%)
5. Austin (12%)
6. San Francisco (11.9%)
7. Houston (9.9%)
8. Seattle area (9.4%)
9. San Diego (9.3%)
10. Northern Virginia (8.5%)

We know that diversity returns a premium on every conceivable level. So what makes markets like Denver, Detroit, Seattle, and the Florida region better than average at promoting gender equality in the partnership ranks? What makes Miami, the California area, Austin, and Seattle better than average at promoting diversity in the partnership ranks? Why are there considerable variations in measures of racial diversity amongst partners in the 40 cities represented in the directory?

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