It was an honor to serve as Chair of ISBA’s Standing Committee on Women and the Law (“WATL”) from 2015 – 2016. As the Founding Partner and CEO of Hunter Masalski LLC, I represent companies in all aspects of environmental, health and safety law, with an emphasis on OSHA and EPA compliance and defense. I also have a commercial litigation and appellate litigation practice.
With the support of my fellow committee members, I was able to focus on the Equal Rights Amendment (“ERA”). In January 2015, WATL recommended ISBA to support the passage of the ERA. In June 2015, WATL accomplished this task by sending committee members to each of the ISBA’s Section Councils and Committees to obtain their support by educating ISBA members about the history of the ERA. Additionally, WATL handed out green ERA buttons to ISBA members at Assembly, which led to ISBA’s Assembly voting in support of the legislation. Thereafter, WATL members continued to collaborate with several organizations in Springfield with the assistance of ISBA’s Director of Legislative Affairs, Jim Covington. Also, during my time as Chair I was able to focus on the Lactation Accommodation in Airports Act. In February 2015, I traveled from Chicago O’Hare International airport and had significant trouble locating a clean and private place to pump breast milk that was not a “family bathroom.” I was appalled and I shared my experience with other committee members. Several of them had similar stories about pumping in random locations or having difficulty finding appropriate accommodations. With these shared experiences in mind, I researched and prepared the initial draft of Senate Bill 0344 “Lactation Accommodation in Airports Act”. My fellow WATL committee members contacted my state senator and encouraged her staff to bring this issue to her attention. A bill was eventually introduced in the Illinois General Assembly by Senator Kimberly Lightford. In July 2015, I testified at a public hearing before Chicago City Council Finance Committee and coordinated outreach to Illinois legislators. With our joint efforts, the Lactation Accommodation in Airports Act was signed into law on August 2, 2015 (See, 410 ILCS 140). Similar legislation was also introduced on the federal level by Senator Tammy Duckworth.
Our committee has made tremendous strides in helping women lawyers stick with this profession and thrive as leaders within the ISBA. We need to continue to work together to ensure that the leadership pipeline continues to grow.