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As a straight white male, I am wondering whether it would be inappropriate for me to attend any of the upcoming "diversity fairs." Although there is some variation in the language employed by the host organizations and in the eligibility requirements, some things seem more or less universal. Technically, straight white males are eligible to join in the fun. Some of the host organizations even state explicitly that everyone is invited, regardless of race, sexual orientation, etc. But these same organizations (and, yes, I do realize I am generalizing a bit) say repeatedly that employers "expect" to interview minority applicants, or that the fair is "for" a certain UR group.

Lower level of abstraction: I already bid on the DE and CCBA fairs. I'm planning on bidding on the BLG fair. If Vault ends up holding their diversity fair this year, I'll probably bid on that as well.

Thoughts?

efeinste wrote:As a straight white male, I am wondering whether it would be inappropriate for me to attend any of the upcoming "diversity fairs." Although there is some variation in the language employed by the host organizations and in the eligibility requirements, some things seem more or less universal. Technically, straight white males are eligible to join in the fun. Some of the host organizations even state explicitly that everyone is invited, regardless of race, sexual orientation, etc. But these same organizations (and, yes, I do realize I am generalizing a bit) say repeatedly that employers "expect" to interview minority applicants, or that the fair is "for" a certain UR group.

Lower level of abstraction: I already bid on the DE and CCBA fairs. I'm planning on bidding on the BLG fair. If Vault ends up holding their diversity fair this year, I'll probably bid on that as well.

Thoughts?

I know a couple Asian students from my school that attended the diversity fair and had good results from it. So you don't necessarily have to part of a UR group to attend. But with that said, personally as a straight white male I would not attend. Maybe someone that has attended can speak to it differently, but if I were there to interview candidates and a straight white guy was coming up, I would have questions about him. Is he trying to make a political statement, can he not get a job through OCI? Like I said this might just be me and you could do well, but if you have the resume to be competitive at OCI, I would stick with that

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trebekismyhero wrote:

efeinste wrote:As a straight white male, I am wondering whether it would be inappropriate for me to attend any of the upcoming "diversity fairs." Although there is some variation in the language employed by the host organizations and in the eligibility requirements, some things seem more or less universal. Technically, straight white males are eligible to join in the fun. Some of the host organizations even state explicitly that everyone is invited, regardless of race, sexual orientation, etc. But these same organizations (and, yes, I do realize I am generalizing a bit) say repeatedly that employers "expect" to interview minority applicants, or that the fair is "for" a certain UR group.

Lower level of abstraction: I already bid on the DE and CCBA fairs. I'm planning on bidding on the BLG fair. If Vault ends up holding their diversity fair this year, I'll probably bid on that as well.

Thoughts?

I know a couple Asian students from my school that attended the diversity fair and had good results from it. So you don't necessarily have to part of a UR group to attend. But with that said, personally as a straight white male I would not attend. Maybe someone that has attended can speak to it differently, but if I were there to interview candidates and a straight white guy was coming up, I would have questions about him. Is he trying to make a political statement, can he not get a job through OCI? Like I said this might just be me and you could do well, but if you have the resume to be competitive at OCI, I would stick with that

Diversity for firms isn't the same as being URM for application purposes - Asian, female, and LGBT usually count (and are probably underrepresented as partners anyway). That said, I agree that people will wonder why a white guy is there and will probably presume that he's gay/some other non-majority sexuality (though I think occasionally people have applied on socioeconomic grounds).

Just take a copy of the most recent edition of Vanity Fair magazine & you should be fine.

trebekismyhero wrote: I know a couple Asian students from my school that attended the diversity fair and had good results from it. So you don't necessarily have to part of a UR group to attend. But with that said, personally as a straight white male I would not attend. Maybe someone that has attended can speak to it differently, but if I were there to interview candidates and a straight white guy was coming up, I would have questions about him. Is he trying to make a political statement, can he not get a job through OCI? Like I said this might just be me and you could do well, but if you have the resume to be competitive at OCI, I would stick with that

I agree with this completely. I would assume you were either (1) unable to get a job through the normal channels, (2) making an ill advised anti-affirmative action political point, or (3) too socially inept to realize you weren't really supposed to attend.

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Nekrowizard wrote:I applied to a bunch of firms for diversity 1L summer positions because I'm a poor white immigrant, but let me tell you, it did not work out.

That may be a function of your school, not your race, though. I know a couple people at my T6 got 1L SAs for things like socioeconomic status, so that can def happen

But OP would be pretty tone deaf to attend a diversity fair as a straight white middle class male

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i think many overly PC people would say something along the lines of "we're all diverse" or "only you can say whether you are diverse" but personally it is a huge pet peeve of mine when straight white men say that they are diverse. There is an argument that you might be based on socioeconomic status but the point of these fairs are to attract diverse and historically underrepresented individuals (i.e. not straight white men). I know some people who say they are diverse because they are either married, in the military or veterans, or are parents. Maybe a lot of law students don't fall into those categories, but I still don't think diversity job fairs are meant for those law students and I will definitely judge straight white men that I see at these fairs (and to a lesser extent, straight white women). Or I'll think you're gay.

Once you're at a biglaw firm, you're no longer a poor white man. You're a rich white man, which they have plenty of, hence the fair. I wouldn't waste my time.