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International Women’s Day is a day of civil awareness; it is a time to celebrate the cultural, economic, social and political achievements of women all around the world. On this day, we especially look back at how far we’ve progressed as a society in overcoming obstacles of oppression, discrimination and sexism.
It is a particularly significant moment in the field of Law, which is among the oldest and most conservative professions, because for the first time ever in the Australian landscape, women outnumber men in the legal profession. The Law Society of New South Wales’ most recent National Profile of Solicitors 2016 publication indicates that there has been a substantial growth in the number of women entering the Law field.
In 2016, 50.1% of solicitors were women whereas men made up 49.9% - this is a notable shift from the 46.3% female and 53.7% male distribution of 2011. New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia exhibit the highest female to male ratio of solicitors in government positions (1.0%, 1.9% and 2.1% respectively), meaning that the number of female solicitors working in government is roughly double their male counterparts. The Northern Territory and the ACT jurisdictions have also experienced more female representation in 2016.
Today is an appropriate day to celebrate such achievements, but we should also remember those who made it possible. Law in early 20th century New South Wales was exclusively dominated by males. In fact, the first female legal graduate in New South Wales was Ada Evans who enrolled at the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Law in 1899. Her entrance was made possible only by the absence of the Dean, Professor Pitt Cobbett, who would not have accepted a woman as a law student. When he returned, he called for Ada and advised her that she was not suitable for law and instead should pursue "some less arduous study such as medicine". Nonetheless, Ada graduated in 1902 with a LLB but was refused admission into the legal profession for sixteen years, on the grounds that a precedent did not exist.
Women were barred from parliamentary office and omitted from the legal profession, which is something that Ada Evans lobbied hard against. This sparked a political campaign, not only in Australia, but also in the United Kingdom for legislation to allow women to practice law which culminated in the Women’s Legal Status Act 1918 (NSW). This act enabled Ada to become a registered student-at-law, and on May 1921, she became the first woman admitted to the New South Wales Bar.
However, the experience of fighting to be recognised apparently left Ada feeling so alienated that she did not practice as a barrister even when she was finally granted the right to. She cited family commitments and the years that passed since her graduation as to why she declined to work as a barrister, saying that she did not want "women's standing in the profession to be undermined by a show of incompetence".
Nonetheless, today we recognise and appreciate her effort and the efforts of all those in history who have fought for the rights of women.
Happy International Women’s Day!
The Prominent Lawyers Team
