UCLA Journal of Gender and Law

This Essay argues that the lack of paid parental leave for federal law clerks enables pregnancy discrimination, restricts women's reproductive choice, and perpetuates gender inequality within the legal profession.

This Essay is organized as follows. Part I demonstrates how the lack of parental leave leads to an implicit prohibition against childbirth, thereby enabling pregnancy discrimination and restricting women's reproductive choice. Part II shows how the lack of parental leave fosters gender inequality within the profession by allowing men, but not women, to build their career and family simultaneously. Part III explains why the clerkship's unique structure is no justification for denying parental leave to term clerks.