It is no secret that the legal industry has largely throughout history been antithetical to female participation. Women have been consistently perceived as some form of ‘underdog’ solely because of their sex, rather than being acknowledged for their attributes, experiences and skills.

How the legal industry, and wider society, continues to somewhat uphold such perceptions of women as ‘underdogs’ can be linked back to how individuals innately view the world through a collection of biases. The traditional - albeit deeply outdated - nature of the legal industry as a male-dominated institution has informed our unconscious biases. Individuals hold these biases in their subconscious without explicitly being aware that these assumptions affect – in this particular circumstance, for the worse – how we perceive the capabilities and accomplishments of women.

Performance bias similarly affects our assumptions of women in the workplace compared to male colleagues. As per performance bias, individuals tend to underestimate women’s performance, who are in turn required to accomplish more just to prove they have the same level of competency as men. In contrast, men are often valued in the workplace for their ‘future potential’ and ability to grow into a position – hence, requiring less experience to prove their merit. [1]

It is our duty as a progressive society in the twenty-first century to do better to actively treat women as equals and recognise their achievements for what they are, rather than undermining them based on their sex. To prove that women are not underdogs, and rather more like underappreciated, we shall recognise just some of the remarkable, underappreciated or utterly unknown achievements of powerful female figures in contributing to the legal industry, pursuit of justice and betterment of society.

Kudnarto: A proud Kaurna woman, Kudnarto was the first Indigenous Australian woman to exercise her civil right to marriage under colonial law, making South Australian legal history. [2]
Charlotte E. Ray: Undoubtedly an international trailblazer for both people of colour and women in the legal industry, Ray was the first Black female lawyer in U.S. history and the first woman admitted to U.S. legal practice in 1872. [3] Despite her undeniable talent and skill set, Ray encountered difficulty in finding clients willing to entrust their matter in a lawyer who identified as both a person of colour and is of female gender identity.
Ada Evans: 120 years ago in 1902, Ada Evans paved the way for future female legal practitioners by being the first woman to graduate with a law degree. However, Evans was unable to practise law upon graduation due to her sex not satisfying the definition of ‘person’ in the admission requirement of ‘person of good fame and character’, thereby perpetuating the biases that she, a woman, was not worthy of attaining such a degree. [4]
Flos Greig: Similarly a trailblazer for women in the legal industry, Greig was the first woman to be successfully admitted to practice law as a barrister in Victoria. [5]
Edith Cowan: The first woman to be elected as a member of Australian Parliament in 1921, Cowan continuously fought for better recognition of women’s rights in respect to education and health. As a founding member of the ‘Karrakatta Club’, Cowan advocated for women to hold positions in society, whether it was through a degree or job, equivalent to men [6] – pushing for women to strive for more than what society expected of them.
Constance Baker Motley: In 1964, Motley made U.S. history by becoming the first African-American woman to serve in the New York Senate. Her trailblazing continued when Motley became the first Black female federal judge in 1966, going on to win significant civil rights victories in the United States Supreme Court. [7] Motley ultimately ensured better representation of people of colour in the legal system.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Ginsburg’s advocacy for gender-based equality broke barriers for women wishing to access the legal system and inspired many through her role as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court until her passing in 2020.
Rosa Parks: Best known for taking a stand – not literally, as she refused to give up her seat on a bus – and advocating for Black people’s civil rights. However, long before Parks defiantly refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white person, her family had an extensive history of standing up against racism and being involved in civil rights movements. [8]
Patsy Mink: The daughter of second-generation Japanese immigrants, Mink made her mark on history when she was elected as the first woman of colour to the U.S. House of Representatives circa 1964. [9]
Mary Gaudron: In 1987, Gaudron made her mark in Australian history by becoming the first female to be appointed as a Justice of the High Court. [10]
Michelle Obama: Whilst best known for being the United States’ former First Lady, Obama has been instrumental in contributing to public service both in the U.S. and on an international scale. Rather than turning to corporate law, Obama used her law degree to advocate for the legal, non-profit and medical stakeholders of the industry. [11]
Shonda Rhimes: Although separate from the legal industry, American television producer Shonda Rhimes has continually strived for the better representation of people of colour in her television shows. As a person of colour herself, Rhimes actively recognises the importance of having diverse representations in the media to inspire future generations, no matter what industry they aspire to enter.

For this article to explore all of the notable achievements of women worldwide throughout the years would be impossible, for the list is infinite. Women may be viewed as lesser by the legal industry and wider society owing to outdated perceptions as the ‘underdogs’, yet they are more than this. We are more than this.

Women are not underdogs, but definitely underappreciated.

[1] Dorothy Dalton, ‘The Dangers of Not Hiring Women for Potential’, 3Plus International (Blog Post, 27 February 2020) <https://3plusinternational.com/2020/02/the-dangers-of-not-hiring-women-for-potential/>.

[2] Peggy Brock, ‘Hidden Women of History: Kudnarto, the Kaurna woman who made South Australian legal history’, The Conversation (Blog Post, 1 August 2022) <https://theconversation.com/au/topics/hidden-women-of-history-64072>.

[3] FindLaw, ‘11 Black Americans Who Made - and Are Making - an Impact on the Law’, FindLaw (Blog Post, 31 January 2019) <https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/law-and-life/7-african-americans-who-made-an-impact-in-the-law/>.

[4] Kate Eastman, ‘Sex Discrimination in the Legal Profession’ (2004) 27(3) UNSW Law Journal 866, 868.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Inspired Adventures, ‘6 Inspiring Australian Women’, Inspired Adventures (Blog Post, 18 October 2020) <https://inspiredadventures.com.au/5-inspiring-australian-women/>.

[7] Michelle Darrisaw, ‘36 Inspiring Women who Changed the World’, Oprah Daily (Blog Post, 5 February 2021) <https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/g26513857/women-who-changed-the-world/>.

[8] January Nelson, ‘50 Underrated Women You Never Learned About in History Class’, Thought Catalog (Blog Post, 30 September 2019) <https://thoughtcatalog.com/january-nelson/2019/06/50-underrated-women-you-never-learned-about-in-history-class/>.

[9] The Representation Project, ‘5 Overlooked Women in History’, The Representation Project (Blog Post, 2 March 2020), <https://therepproject.org/5-overlooked-women-in-history/>.
[10] Kate Eastman (n 4).

[11] Maria Barbera, ‘Thirteen Powerful and Famous Female Attorneys’, The National Law Review (Blog Post, 10 April 2018) <https://www.natlawreview.com/article/thirteen-powerful-and-famous-female-attorneys>.

Written by Emily Calbert

Edited by Muskan Chowdhury

Cover art designed by Dayeon Seo