Vice President Mike Pence

When Vice President Mike Pence announced that he followed the “Billy Graham Rule” and refused to dine or drink alone with any woman that was not his wife, social commentators erupted with scorn—attacking his religious and conservative political beliefs.

But Pence is not alone in his reluctance to spend alone time with someone of the opposite gender. Harvard Business Review found that 64 percent of executive men were reluctant to have one-on-one meetings with junior women. Similarly, a New York Times survey found that nearly half of men, 45 percent, felt it was inappropriate to have dinner alone with a woman, and 22 percent felt that it was inappropriate to have a work meeting alone with a woman.

And this is not a one-sided feeling from a gender perspective. Actually, more women than men feel strongly about avoiding alone time with nonspousal members of the opposite sex. The same New York Times survey also found that over half of the surveyed women, 53 percent, felt it was inappropriate to dine alone with men who are not their spouse. Women also objected to routine work situations involving alone time with a nonspousal male: 44 percent of women objected to lunch and 25 percent objected to work meetings.

This type of gender separation in the work environment is deeply problematic in a high-mentorship profession such as the law. No one—male or female—succeeds in law without significant mentorship. Anything that negatively impacts mentorship unfairly and inequitably limits career development. Long hours together working on client matters, overnight travel, shared meals, and one-on-one meetings are frequent, necessary occurrences. And with the senior ranks of the legal profession being so male-heavy, junior women feel the brunt of any uneven inclusion. If women don't get the same mentoring as their male counterparts, their careers will not advance at the same rates.

The reasons for avoiding one-on-one situations with the opposite sex are too varied and too deeply rooted to demand people just “act differently.” For example, a common reason cited by both genders for avoiding alone time with the opposite sex at work is to avoid the appearance of impropriety. The fear of being wrongly accused of an office affair runs deep and is one genesis of the Billy Graham Rule, named after the Christian evangelist who believed in adhering to it. False rumors undeniably damage careers and families of everyone involved. Many women also point to the potential for harassment as a key reason for avoiding one-on-one situations with men. And with the exposure of Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer and others in 2017, concerns about harassment may drive more women to avoid alone time with senior men who are otherwise positioned to provide mentoring.

Training alone is likely not the answer to this dilemma. No evidence exists to demonstrate that companywide training programs impact an individual's decision to avoid alone time with the opposite sex. Rather, there is research to support that anti-harassment, implicit, and unconscious bias training in isolation do not have a long-term, positive impact on individual behavior. Thus, those who feel avoiding alone time is necessary to protect themselves and their families—both men and women alike—will continue to avoid alone time with the opposite sex.

The results of uneven mentoring exist today and must be addressed today. Senior attorneys must adopt practices that provide equitable mentoring for everyone on their teams—accounting for the varied motives that men and women have for avoiding alone time with the opposite sex.

So, what can well-meaning senior attorneys do to provide equal mentoring to both genders?

Create a Harassment-Free Environment — The first practice is obvious: Create a harassment-free environment. Many women point to the fear of harassment as a reason for avoiding one-on-one situations with senior men. If women on your team have any reason to avoid you or other senior attorneys in your firm, then the careers of those women will undoubtedly be negatively affected. Simply put, everyone—especially senior men—must promote a work environment that rejects all forms of harassment and creates a level of comfort for everyone to interact in positive and productive work relationships.

It is incumbent on each of us to notice and take action if we witness other lawyers exhibiting inappropriate behaviors. The Weinsteins and Lauers of the world are easy to spot. We all need to take responsibly for speaking out against them. And make sure that law firms or organizations have a clear and transparent process for reporting these issues. Everyone should feel safe and know that they are protected from this reprehensible behavior at work.

The focus on this issue cannot stop with just the predator types. There are also subtler forms of harassment and discrimination that are equally destructive to the mentor-mentee relationships necessary for young lawyers to advance. These behaviors can be harder to spot and speak out against. For example, offhanded jokes or comments may be intended innocently, but those instances can build up overtime and be perceived as threatening. Just like mentoring and harassment cannot co-exist, mentoring and the fear of harassment cannot co-exist. If a colleague is making these comments (but not otherwise showing signs of harassment), privately mention to that person how he might be unintentionally impacting others. Most people are decent. They don't want to harm others and hopefully will react well to your observations and feedback. If you think you may be one of these people, correct your behavior immediately.

Don't Mix Mentoring and Romance — The second practice focuses on building an environment where mentoring relationships aren't questioned. Fear of being wrongly accused of a workplace romantic relationship is a powerful motivator for both genders to avoid alone time with each other. We must all create an environment in which no one questions why a senior male attorney and a junior female attorney are spending time together alone. Any romance—even a fully consensual one—between a mentor and mentee poisons the workplace environment for years. One confirmed relationship between a junior attorney (mentee) and a senior attorney (mentor) calls into question other male-female work relationships. Every mixed-gender mentor relationship is potentially viewed as “more than work-related.” Overnight team travel becomes suspicious. Office meetings behind closed doors raise eyebrows. All types of otherwise innocent alone time become potentially nefarious. Unfortunately, the reaction to these types of office rumor mills is to pull back from opposite-gender alone time—to pull back from mentoring relationships.

The ramifications of office romances go beyond the office. Spouses and significant others hear these stories about the office culture, and some push back on their spouses spending alone time with the opposite sex. Some of the reluctance to spend alone time with the opposite sex can be tracked to these family suspicions. In these situations, many feel that it is easier to avoid the one-on-one situation than to explain the work relationship.

At the individual level, the best remedy is not to engage in romantic relationships at work. At the law firm and organizational level, one way to manage this issue is to adopt and enforce transparent firm policies that prohibit romantic relationships between senior and junior attorneys where the senior attorney is or could be in a mentoring role. A top-down culture of respect and accountability can promote positive interactions and serve as a guide for acceptable behavior.

Know Yourself — The third practice focuses on knowing yourself and your tendencies. Like Pence, do you refuse to spend time alone at certain events with someone other than your spouse? Are you like the 45 percent of men and 53 percent of women who are reluctant to dine alone with the opposite sex? Are you uncomfortable traveling alone overnight with a junior female colleague or with a more senior male attorney? Do you feel that it is inappropriate to meet alone with someone of the opposite gender in your office with the door closed? If you act on any of these feelings without making adjustments to your mentoring practices, the result will be uneven for many junior attorneys.

Pence's categorical approach is not appropriate in the law firm setting. He and others who share his philosophy may solve one problem—avoiding harassment situations or false accusations—but these actions cause another significant problem of gender-based harm.

The goal is to create an environment where both genders receive the same level and type of mentoring. Dining, for example, is one of those events in which informal mentoring is often provided. If, as a male senior lawyer, you won't dine alone with a junior woman, then don't dine alone with a junior man. Make sure that all mentoring is delivered in the office where everyone has equal access. The better choice, however, is to invite two junior associates to dinner and provide mentoring to both. Similarly, if you won't meet alone with a junior woman in your office, then don't meet alone with a junior man. Instead, hold these individual meetings in common spaces and open-view conference rooms. If the meetings are not private, then leave the door open.

Overnight travel can be trickier. Hearings, depositions, mediations and client meetings often require lawyers to travel overnight. Junior attorneys learn much of their craft from shadowing a senior attorney at these events. The negative impact of any uneven involvement is extreme. The answer to this dilemma is not to refuse to travel with either gender. The solution is to expand the work and mentoring opportunities to others. If you won't travel alone with a junior female attorney, then invite another junior attorney to the event and absorb the cost as a firm. Both junior attorneys will benefit. Of course, clients cannot be asked to pay for this type of staffing. The commitment must come from the senior attorney and the law firm.

Know Your Team — The fourth practice focuses on knowing your team members. Remember, the goal is to provide even mentoring regardless of gender. Lunch, dinner, office meetings, and overnight travel are all viewed as inappropriate by a significant percentage of women, according to the New York Times. Yet these events help develop careers and are a necessary part of the mentoring process.

As senior attorneys, it is our job to develop everyone on our teams. Watch for team members who are reluctant to be alone with you or other senior attorneys. If you believe there is specific harassment issue at hand, report it. But if it seems to be a broad discomfort not tied to a specific act of harassment, make adjustments to ensure that women are as comfortable as possible in all work and mentoring situations. Some of the adjustments are simple, such as holding open-door meetings and involving additional mentees in any events.

Provide Additional Skills-Based Training — The fifth practice is based on the realization that uneven mentoring will undoubtedly not be solved completely with the four other suggested practices. Even with the most conscientious, well-meaning lawyers, uneven mentoring will likely still occur in some instances because of deep-rooted fears related to harassment or perceived improprieties for both men and women. Formal training not linked to individual mentors can help supplement career development for those who receive less mentoring. Formal training programs offered by or in conjunction with third-party vendors can also provide growth opportunities beyond those provided by individual mentors. Ideally, these programs should do more than teach case law, and they should provide junior lawyers the opportunity to practice actual skills in a feedback-rich environment.

A Call to Action — Harassment, the fear of harassment, and the fear of false accusations are real issues affecting the legal industry. This issue cannot be ignored.

In summary, the call to action for everyone, and especially senior lawyers is this: first, call out harassment or other injustices when you see them, and make sure your firm has transparent mechanisms in place to report issues; second, be aware of your current tendencies and adjust your actions to ensure equitable mentoring; third, notice when others are uncomfortable in mentoring or other work-related situations and make changes to minimize their discomfort or fears; fourth, encourage your firm or organization to adopt practices that eliminate or limit personal relationship within groups; and fifth, further supplement mentoring by providing training opportunities by or in conjunction with third parties.

Wayne Stacy is chairman of the intellectual property group in Baker Botts' San Francisco office.