FEATURE Delicate Balance for Black Women Attorneys in Government By Tonée Jones W hat is it like to be a Black woman attorney in government? While there are few statistics on the demographics of lawyers in government, the United States Office of Personnel Management reported in 2016 that only 18.4 percent of the permanent federal workforce is made up of African American employees. Only 11 percent of all Senior Executive Service (SES) government workers are African American, and only 35.3 percent of all SES government workers are women. The decreasing number of Black women lawyers in the private sector has been discussed widely and often, but their absence in the federal government is still a topic that lacks exploration. To provide some understanding on this topic, two former federal attorneys offer insight on why Black women are still a small population of the federal legal workforce and why it is important to change that dynamic. 'ACCESS IS KEY' Bianca Forde joined the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia in 2015, where she first started in the Domestic Violence and Sex Offense Trial Section. As an assistant U.S. attorney, she had an immediate impact on the people she met, especially young Black women. Enter that space wanting to make a difference and leave it better than you found it. BIANCA FORDE Tre' Lynn 22 WASHINGTON LAWYER * MARCH/APRIL 2021