I could insert a cliché line about growing up brown, confused and questioning, or I could just simply tell you I am brown, queer, and disabled. Straight to the point, clean and simple. In less dramatic terms, this story could start in any format and could use any other adjectives to describe the experiences of the writer of this article. But you will still find that the adjectives describing the different women of colour in your lives could change, but the commonalities of and similarities in our experiences as diverse women.
Our story starts with being called names in middle school or high school, being told that we could never become lawyers, and that our fate is to settle down and start a family. We are told not to be too ambitious, to be realistic, to aim for something within our reach. It could even be the start of a mainstream Mindy Kaling-esque Hollywood movie or Netflix show that lists the details of the protagonist and then takes you through 90 minutes or 18 episodes of struggle, growth, hardship, and perseverance. Finally, like experiencing the cheesy bit of a burger, you hit the best part in the end (controversial, what about the crusts right?!) – you get to watch the protagonist find her dream job, or prince charming.
After all the hullabaloo, she is successful, and she has made it. In real life, women of colour also go through those struggles, just not in a period of 2 episodes. Women of colour make it out to become successful as well. But in reality, that journey is not so glamorous and the bumps on the road leave rather deep scars.
When you are growing up, surrounded by all these labels that suddenly sound so cool in university but were not so cool in school, you struggle with knowing whether the place where you want to belong – in this case, a courtroom, will allow you to do so. These are the labels that try so hard to classify your diversity, your experience and put you in a box. Because women of colour may be intelligent, smart, hardworking, but, we must be grateful for all these opportunities given to us. Right? Right. You may be confident, competent, intelligent, and articulate, but you still hear a little voice in the back of your head that says, “You don’t belong here. You are not good enough so stop pretending that you do.” That voice stuck with the writer of this article for a long time. I wondered if it did with other women too. Strong, successful, articulate, intelligent and busy women. Women I aspire to be, women I want to work with and work for. Did they have this voice in their minds too when they sat in class?
The stories of diverse women in law are often paraded as inspirational porn. They are recited repeatedly, recycled into unbelievable fiction. These stories start off raw and honest, are filled with vulnerability but eventually turn into palatable narratives. After a few recitations, this new watered down version of the story does not capture the struggles of not having people in your teams who don’t relate to a WOC’s culture. Eventually, they fall short of unpacking the hurtful remarks people recite under their breath everytime they see a WOC succeeding and pulling down the iron curtain.
If this does not resonate with you, you have either been lucky enough to avoid being caught in such exchanges or unfortunately you’ve had to grow thick enough skin to survive the taunts and cross the finish line. But why is this so? We ask a few WOC thriving in the industry on their thoughts, to help us understand the underlying forces causing these experiences.
Is the sexism in the legal industry well and truly alive, and if it is, why is it different for women of colour or diverse women in the legal industry?
When the writer asked Sana* about her experiences as a diverse lawyer in the industry, she said, “The sexism isn’t really out there in an obvious kind of manner that you would expect. It exists in ways like the client assumes you are the assistant and not the main SA on their matter. Or you don’t get invited to things because people assume I am going to be busy with the kids or you’re considered brave for leaving early to pick the kids up from school. I have heard stories but I have luckily never had to deal with it. I mean, it is hard enough to come from a background with no connections, to come from a life where I translated the documents for my parents since I could read and write in English and to feel lost. But the minute I walked in through the doors of law school, I was stuck in this invisible fight to win the approval of my peers. Once that ended, it was about winning the approval of my colleagues and supervisors. Nothing has been harder than trying to gain the trust of my male supervisors. It is because they often look for people who work and think like them and people they can trust. You can’t trust what you haven’t seen. So being the first person in the team or sometimes the firm to challenge that bias can be quite the burden in my opinion. And they can feel more burdensome when you are putting a foot forward to build trust as a woman, and also as a woman from a certain cultural or religious or ethnic background, whatever it may be. These connections of trust and communication often occur on gendered lines and breaking those barriers down is the first step to making it easier for women of colour. ”
Did networking play any part in your experience and journey of becoming a lawyer?
Sana amusingly apologised, before answering this question. “Friends, readers, writers – whoever is exposed to this piece. I am sorry for leaving you with the most overused and least understood word in the profession – networking. As a young woman who came from nothing, with mediocre or palatable grades at best – I did not have much going for me. My options were to work hard and long hours so I could afford to go to law school, or keep wondering what my life could have been. Networking with my peers in class, with mentors in law school competitions and all of the law society events is what got me my first job. I have not looked back ever since. So please, all of you, go out there and connect with people.”
Another lawyer, Anita* chimed in on the discussion and added, “People often don’t see this from the outside but sometimes as a lawyer who comes from a culturally diverse background, our own self doubt is our biggest competition. And you are then convinced that everyone around you is hoping that you fail, so they can succeed. I don’t fault myself for feeling this way but you need to see that - I never had this support. I never had anyone who believed that I could become a lawyer, that I would make a living and build a community for myself. So I had to push through every inch of self-doubt in my mind, the hesitation in my parents’ voice, the whispers in the community questioning my every choice. It is the product of a system that forces us to compete with everyone instead of allowing us to thrive side by side. Unless and until that mentality is put to rest, permanently, supporting women in the legal industry is going to be hard. And I really hope we can all get to a point where we recognise that women do have a lot of supporters. But we need to give them the tools - starting from school to university to believe that they can become lawyers and judges and whatever they want to be. So when you do find the courage to step out of your comfort zone and go to an event. Don’t go in with a mindset where you expect everyone wants to see you fail. If you look at it as a privilege to be there, you will soon realise how many people play an invisible hand in helping you succeed.”
The story of diversity is now becoming the celebrated norm. Dear reader, if you are a seasoned lawyer or a newbie in town about to have your first bite of this juicy industry, there are several new legal communities across the board that are there to welcome you with open arms and offer you all the support you would need. We welcome you to explore Diverse Women in Law (DWL), Asian Australian Lawyers Association (AALA), Muslim Legal Network (MLN), African Australian Legal Network (AALN), Disabled Australian Lawyers Association (DALA) and so many more.
What was the role of your male colleagues in this journey of yours?
“A woman’s best friends are her peers. But having your male colleagues cheer for you as you try and do it all, makes the journey a lot easier to navigate.” Why? Men have everything to do with it! And by it, I mean how women are viewed and celebrated in the workplace or at home! My partner, a very predictable cis-white-male in the legal industry has an advantage over me that will always remain invisible to him. But it is his support and ongoing praise of my work that has boosted my confidence over the years, giving me the confidence to back up the quality of my work and to ask for more responsibility or to even feel comfortable in asserting my ground when people have felt comfortable in questioning my abilities. So, men have everything to do with what to change in this industry, on how to fix a sexist mindset and by leading with examples by providing support not only to their partners but to their female colleagues too. Because when you start out young, naïve, enthusiastic – it is men who create these opportunities for their female colleagues, who open doors for initiatives within their teams to support more diversity and by reciprocating the same level of trust, faith and respect for their female colleagues they create a culture where other men soon walk in their footsteps. This culture of supporting their peers – especially young women from diverse backgrounds starts in law schools. So, the work that you* (the writer) is doing, what law societies do – it all goes a long way. It does what a lot of us have always wanted to see, it challenges this culture that has settled in practice sometimes.” states Sana.
What’s one piece of advice you want to leave the readers with?
Sana leaves us with these little nuggets of wisdom, “It’s hard, it can be really really hard, and you sometimes really do want to give up. But it does not have to be, and it will not always be hard. Lean into your diversity – you have obviously pushed through a lot of experiences to get where you are. That little voice in the back of your head? She is not true. She is a product of the times, but the times are changing, the industry is changing. You have more women in leadership positions, more diversity being celebrated than before and there could never be a better time than now to become a lawyer. It sounds cliché but when you find your people, your team and the practice that keeps you going – it all falls into place and makes it worth it. And please get rid of the idea that you have to get it all right on the first go. You have to get most, if not some things right. Everything else falls into line with practice and patience.”
“Oh! and advice? I don’t think I have that much experience just yet, but all I will say is – look out for each other. Support other women in law, we are not competition, we are just partners in the making. Create room to have difficult conversations about diversity, take the opportunity to engage with the people around you to learn more about how you can support them. Also stop telling yourself that you need to be a little better, a little more intelligent, a little more skilled and a little more talented. Don’t overcomplicate it. Just do it now and take the lessons with you. Learn what needs to be improved – fix it and try again,” says Anita as she had a lot to share and so much for us to reflect on.
Folks, we’re past the crusty bits and at the cheesy centre of this hardship burger. The curveballs have come to a rest, the protagonist finally gets to enjoy her happily ever after. Luckily for you and me, this happily ever after is no longer viewed through rose-coloured glasses like it is in Hollywood movies. In real life, the red flags are obvious, the signs are known, and the change is already beginning to happen. All that is left now, is for the protagonist to leave you with her cheesy lines to reach a happy ending.
The message is clear and quite simple – young women of colour have it hard. We know this. But what can we do to help more women of colour to thrive in the legal industry? We need to ask ourselves uncomfortable questions and challenge our assumptions. “What am I doing to break this cycle and help other people with lived experiences of diversity around me? Am I doing enough? Do I need to be doing more?” If you start from there, there will eventually be enough space for all of us. It is promising to see that the legal industry is moving into a new era. The industry is supporting more people than ever before to break generational cycles and enter the profession. It isn’t just creating space for women of colour out of expectations, but because women of colour deserve to be there just as much as anybody else does.
But now, more than ever, while the dust is yet to settle, it is important to keep the pressure on and push to change things around you. You do not have to start by changing the entire profession in one day, but you can start somewhere, by taking small steps and creating spaces for us to thrive in. Only because we can all see what this profession could grow into - so start by being an ally that we can count on.
*The speakers’ names have been changed upon request.
Written by Nayonika Bhattacharya
Edited by Talah Jel and Juwariya Malik
Cover art designed by Nerine Chan