Trigger Warning: This article discusses domestic violence and sexual harassment and accordingly may be triggering to some readers. Please proceed with caution.
Growing up, like many young girls, I was obsessed with Disney. There was something magical about the classic Disney archetypes of a damsel in distress longing for a handsome prince to reliably come rescue her from whatever pickle of a situation she had found herself in. Cinderella needing a man to come save her from a dire situation, Rapunzel waiting for a prince to rescue her from the tower, Sleeping Beauty requiring true love’s kiss from a prince she was betrothed to at birth - the list goes on. How dreamy … a woman placed on a pedestal as a prize for the male hero.
On screen, the stories are highly edited and falsified into what young women should aspire to be. They condition women to believe the hearth in which they thrive is in the background of a man and in domestic roles which undeniably limit their intelligence and skills. They paint a one-dimensional picture that women’s stories cannot amount to anything but a difficult situation without being dependent on a man.
A few life lessons learnt later and now navigating both adulthood and law school, I became disillusioned with the classic Disney narratives I formerly watched in awe. I am unsure what was more disempowering; how females with the potential to be valiant, strong and trailblazing were reduced to secondary characters or how these oppressive macro-narratives were, and continue to be, not far from reality. Even the legal system is not above silencing the autonomy of women, for it fails to adequately protect both the women who are represented and the women who seek to represent others.
Recent years have illuminated how the legal system continues to inadequately protect women from being victimised by domestic violence. Although no demographic is safe from experiencing domestic violence, which occurs across all ages, classes, religions and educational levels, the AIHW has highlighted how the crime primarily victimises women and children. [1] Women in vulnerable groups - including Indigenous women, young women and pregnant women - are at an especially heightened risk. [2] It is estimated that one woman is killed each week by domestic violence, which tragically shows that women are not even safe in their own home - not even in their alleged hearth where they thrive by supporting the male figures in their life.
Domestic violence does not discriminate in its outreach to and enduring effect for victims. Yet the legal system does.
Don’t get me wrong, there have been extremely impressive achievements of women in the legal profession over history which illuminate how the industry is not completely antithetical to female professionals. History was initially made in 1902 when Ada Evans became the first woman to graduate with a law degree, although she was unable to practise law at the time due to not satisfying the definition of ‘person’ in the admission requirement of ‘person of good fame and character’. [3] However, just three years later in 1905, Flos Greig became the first woman to be successfully admitted to practice as a barrister in Victoria. [4] Roma Mitchell later became the first woman in Australia to be appointed as Queen’s Counsel in 1962 [5] followed by the first woman in Australia to be appointed as a judge to the Supreme Court of Australia in 1965. [6] Later in 1987, Mary Gaudron became the first female to be appointed as a Justice of the High Court, marking a significant milestone for women in the Australian legal profession. [7] Despite this achievement, by 2003 there were no women on the High Court, which begs the question - why did the remarkable advancements of female legal practitioners abruptly end? [8]
There is no doubt that gender inequality is a massive driver of violence against women. Gender inequality weaves its way into society in many ways, fuelling fundamentally problematic differences between how men and women are viewed across various considerations including professional opportunities, family roles and relationship expectations. The ongoing issue of the gender pay gap further affirms the societal perception of men as superior to their female counterparts, even when the job title or responsibilities are identical.
The women who strive to help others in their pursuit of justice - men, women, children and businesses alike - courageously navigate and fight an ongoing battle to be respected in a traditionally male-dominated legal profession. Looking around at law school, the divide between female and male students seems fairly proportionate, so why do the treatment of men and women legal professionals differ despite 53% of solicitors in Australia being female? [9] Why is it that, although the legal industry comprises an almost even divide of male and female lawyers, only about 30 percent of partners at Australian mid-tier and top-tier law firms are women? [10] Why is it that women make up a mere 16% of the bench in the Federal Court of Australia? [11]
The COVID-19 pandemic in recent years has particularly accentuated how discriminatory the working conditions within the legal industry are against female professionals, in terms of struggling to balance the intense workloads of a legal career - although not in a senior position which females generally do not have equal access to in the first place - with their caregiving and domestic responsibilities. Female lawyers are additionally more likely to be explicitly assigned to undertaking administrative tasks, leading to the misunderstanding that they are not a lawyer but rather an assistant. [12] Moreover, female lawyers tend to have limited opportunities to work with key clients or work on big matters and are often criticised for appearing too assertive in the workplace. [13] Such challenges become obstacles to women’s careers, thereby maintaining an oppressive cycle where female professionals go unrecognised in comparison to their male counterparts.
In addition to being victimised by the industry, female lawyers are also often victims to sexual harassment in the workplace at the hands of male legal practitioners. Numerous factors women lawyers are subject to create an environment conducive to abuse of power, including long work hours and the close working relationship between a supervising partner and lawyer. [14] The prevalence of sexual stereotypes which perceive female lawyers as weak, overly emotional and unprofessional similarly assert male authority in the industry. A common form of sexual harassment women lawyers tend to endure is the manipulation of gender issues wilfully used by men during proceedings with the intent to intimidate. [15] For instance, male counsels will make comments about the personal appearance of a female lawyer as an attempt to interfere with her case. Sexual harassment in the legal profession is thus ultimately driven by the uneven power dynamics valuing male domination.
It has been incredibly refreshing to watch Disney create female characters who deviate from the traditional ‘princess’ archetype, such as Moana, Mulan and Nerida, who are not afraid to affirm their place in society and to exhibit characteristics of courage, resilience and strength. However, the legal profession still has a long way to go to recognise the strong females who operate both within the system as representation and who are represented by the system. Change may not be inevitable but must be actioned. Behaviours and cultures long accepted in society which have facilitated disrespect and harm towards women should have never been allowed and are no longer permissible.
We, the female legal professionals of the future, just need to have faith that even miracles take a little, or more so a lot of, time.
[1] The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia, Report (2018), 5.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Kate Eastman, ‘Sex Discrimination in the Legal Profession’ (2004) 27(3) UNSW Law Journal 866, 868.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Michael Pelly, It’s official, women take over the legal profession (Web Page, 14 July 2021) <https://www.afr.com/companies/professional-services/it-s-official-women-take-over-the-legal-profession-20210712-p588wn>.
[10] Hannah Wootton, Female law partners break through 30pc barrier (Web Page, 10 December 2020), <https://www.afr.com/companies/professional-services/women-partners-break-through-30pc-barrier-20201130-p56j7u>.
[11] The Australian Human Rights Commission, Women in Leadership (Web Page), <https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/women-leadership-old>.
[12] Kim Elsesser, Female lawyers face widespread gender bias, according to new study (Web Page, 1 October 2018), <https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2018/10/01/female-lawyers-face-widespread-gender-bias-according-to-new-study/?sh=1c23a0034b55>.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Joyce Smithey, Women and the Legal Profession: Four common obstacles faced by female lawyers (Blog post, 13 January 2017), <https://ms-jd.org/blog/article/women-and-the-legal-profession-four-common-obstacles-faced-by-female-lawyer>.
[15] The Atlantic, What it Takes to be a Trial Lawyer if you’re not a Man (Web Page, September 2018 <https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/09/female-lawyers-sexism-courtroom/565778/>.
Written by Emily Calbert and Grace Wong