Mary Goldburt Siegel; Lawyer Fought Bias Against Women

Mary Goldburt Siegel, 94, who helped break down barriers for women lawyers in the 1920s. A 1917 graduate of New York University Law School, she got her first job only by agreeing to work for nothing. Later, when male contemporaries earned $15 to $25 a week, Mrs. Siegel was paid only $4, just $1 more than she had earned operating a sewing machine in a garment district sweatshop. Mrs. Siegel said after her retirement 10 years ago that she had faced rampant sexism throughout her career until the 1960s and 1970s, when more women entered the legal profession. In New York City on Thursday of lymphoma.