Browne, Kingsley R.

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BROWNE, Kingsley R.

PERSONAL:

Male. Education: George Washington University, B.A., 1975; University of Colorado, M.A., 1976; University of Denver, J.D., 1982.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Wayne State University, Law School, 471 West Palmer, Detroit, MI 48202. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Attorney, author, and educator. Supreme Court of Colorado, Denver, clerk for Justice Luis Rovira; U.S. Supreme Court, Washington, DC, clerk for Justice Byron White; Morrison and Foerster, San Francisco, CA, partner; Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, professor of law, 1989—.

WRITINGS:

Divided Labours: An Evolutionary View of Women at Work, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 1999.

Biology at Work: Rethinking Sexual Equality, Rutgers University Press (New Brunswick, NJ), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS:

Attorney and educator Kingsley R. Browne attended George Washington University and the University of Colorado before graduating first in his class from the University of Denver law school. He then went on to clerk for Colorado Supreme Court Justice Luis Rovira and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White. Browne practiced law at the firm of Morrison and Foerster in San Francisco, where he was a partner until 1989 when he left to become a law professor at Wayne State University. His research interests focus primarily on employment law, employment discrimination, torts, and the relationship between biology and behavior and the law.

In Divided Labours: An Evolutionary View of Women at Work Browne analyzes the differences between men and women in the workplace, addressing such issues as wage disparities and the "glass ceiling." Browne suggests that biological differences play more of a role than simple discrimination in the employment gender gap, weighing in on the side of social Darwinism. His theory is that men and women have different needs and goals, and that women fail to advance in their careers because they are naturally less aggressive than men, and are instinctively drawn to other areas of their lives. In a review for Discover, Corey S. Powell wrote that Browne "proposes that rather than worry about a 'glass ceiling,' women should celebrate their freedom to measure success in terms other than corporate advancement." Edward Skidelsky, reviewing the book for the New Statesman, stated "it is a chastened Darwinism that now pokes its head back into social and political conversation. Its target is no longer the macrocosm of human society, but the microcosm of human psychology. It claims that evolution has shaped not only our bodies, but also our souls." Booklist reviewer Mary Carroll observed that "Browne's evolutionary explanations for personality and behaviors rely heavily on economic concepts." Skidelsky observed that "Browne's portrait of women as nurturing and altruistic may very well be true as far as nature is concerned."

Biology at Work: Rethinking Sexual Equality returns to the subject of equality between men and women in the workplace, and reiterates the author's belief that biological differences are responsible for the gap in wages and success. Signs contributor Lisa H. Weasel wrote that "what is new is Browne's … attempt to draw sociobiology into the workplace, to account for such disparities as pay inequity and sexual harassment." In the Women's Review of Books Banu Subramaniam commented that Browne "acknowledges the social and political gains made by women in Western societies but points to the striking disparities that still remain. While feminists see these disparities as evidence of the resilience and deep-rootedness of patriarchy, he finds sexual dimorphism and a dual human nature—'male nature' and 'female nature.'"