Support for both men and women wanting to have a family while working at the Bar has greatly improved over the years, according to Justice Ruth McColl of the NSW Court of Appeal. Referred to in an article by Lara Bullock which appeared in Lawyers Weekly......
The Women Lawyers Association of NSW (WLANSW) has launched a Wollongong branch. The new ‘Wollongong Chapter’ was formed “to better engage and support women lawyers outside of CBD areas”, according to WLANSW president Lee-May Saw. The branch was created on 15 October last year through......
This article by Felicity Nelson was published in Lawyers Weekly on 23 March 2016. Ms Nelson reports that after 10 years of sharing front-facing legal roles, senior legal counsel Deanna Chan and Ana Simurina are challenging perceptions by working full-time jobs as a team. Ms......
According to this articel by Felicity Nelson which appeared in Lawyers Weekly on 8 March 2016, the Governor of Victoria has recognised the contributions of regional women lawyers in the lead-up to International Women’s Day. Linda Dessau, the Governor of Victoria, invited members of the......
The New South Wales government has appointed the State’s first woman Attorney General, Gabrielle Upton, and Queensland has appointed as its Attorney General, Yvette D’Ath. Both appointments have been greeted very positively and both Attorney Generals are to be congratulated on their appo...
Issue 4 of Women Lawyers of Queensland’s journal, Inspire, published 23 February 2015, is available on line at http://wlaq.com.au/2015-2/news-article/inspire-issue-4/. It includes articles about feminism’s PR problem, getting organised, wellbeing and book reviews. Enjoy...
We recently added a news item about the roundtables being run by the Law Council of Australia following on from the release, one year ago, of the National Attrition and Re-engagement Study. Lawyers Weekly reported on the first roundtable, which was held on 13 March......
This article appeared in the FTI Journal online in March 2015. It is largely based on work by Carol Frohlinger, founder of Negotiating Women, a consulting firm which advises women on how to rise to leadership positions, and organisations on how to recruit, retain and......
Members who are interested in statistics about the legal profession may be interested in Job Outlook, an Australian Government Initiative. At its website, at http://www.joboutlook.gov.au, the Government has collected information about many types of jobs including barristers, solicitors, legal execut...
The Supreme Court of South Australia and the South Australian Bar have developed a program, the Step up to the Bar program, with the aim of increasing numbers of women at the Bar. Reports on the program from: ABC News online published 15 April 2015......
According to this article by Stefanie Garber which was publishedin Lawyers Weekly on 8 April 2015, a majority of managing partners of law firms believe that the best way to lift the numbers of women in leadership roles is to focus on retaining women lawyers,......
According to this article contributed by Gordon Lane to Sourceable and published on 9 April 2015, a campaign to raise the profile of women architects has met with considerable resistance from members of Wilipedia’s vast network of volunteer editors. To read the article, as well......
The Women Lawyers Association of South Australia is pleased to announce that Human Rights Commissioner Professor Gillian Triggs will be the guest speaker at a long lunch to be held at the Adelaide Pavilion on 8 May 2015. As tickets are expected to sell fast,......
This article by Katie Walsh and Marianna Papadakis, which quotes Amy Challans (among others) and which appeared in the Australian Financial Review on 1 May 2015 concerns the “feminisation” of the legal profession and inescapable references to gender, citing Gordon J as an example on......
This article by Katie Walsh which was published in the Australian Financial Review online on 16 April 2015 (and in hard copy on the 17th) focusses on some observations made by Perry J about the paucity of women who have appeared before her in her......
Timeswise is a UK organisation that is interested in how flexible working can help businesses attract and nurture great talent. It runs a recruiting service that specialises in flexible vacancies. Each year it publishes the “Power Part Time List”, which showcases the inspiring stories of...
According to this article by Stephanie Chalkley-Rhoden which was published by ABC News online on 13 April 2015, women feature in only 7{6c0a4e1ac7e55840cfe639ecf4b11dafaf03aa04ee92fd19e6f871f32a3a63fe} of sports programming in Australia, representing a backwards step when compared to a decade ago an...
According to this article by Leanne Mezrani which appeared in Lawyers Weekly on 13 May 2015, up to 90{6c0a4e1ac7e55840cfe639ecf4b11dafaf03aa04ee92fd19e6f871f32a3a63fe} of primary carers in the legal services industry could be worse off if the Abbott government’s proposed reforms to paid parent...
Issue 22 of Australasian Lawyer has a fascinating range of information about women’s participation in the legal profession, including raw statistics, how we work, and who inspires us. The issue is available on line at http://issuu.com/keymedia/docs/al2.2_emag,e=1100026/12314171...
According to this article by Stefanie Garber which appeared in Lawyers Weekly on 1 June 2015, Lawyers Chambers, a firm composed entirely of female lawyers, draws its strength from the diversity of its staff. To read more, go to http://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/news/16591-all-women-firm-breaks-the-mou...
According to this article by Samantha Woodhill which appeared in the Australasian Lawyer on 24 June 2015, researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas have found that male judges tend to be more chivalrous and lenient towards female litigants than female judges are. To......
On Tuesday 2 June 2015, in anticipation of the High Court welcome ceremoney for the Hon Justoce Michelle Gordon, Annita Baraud (ABC Radio National Law Report) interviewed Heather Roberts, a lecturere at ANU’s College of Law, about her research into the differences betweent he welcome......
President Amy Challans is quoted extensively in this article by Felicity Nelson which appeared in Lawyers Weekly on 7 July 2015. To read the article, go to http://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/16782-women-dominate-senior-associate-postions-excluded-from-partnerships....
WLAQ has released the latest issue of its newsletter Inspire. Click here to read issue 7 of inspire and catch up with the news and views from WLAQ: http://www.wlaq.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Inspire-Issue-7.pdf....
This article by Felicity Nelson which appeared in Lawyers Weekly on 29 July 2015 features comments by Caroline Kirton QC, chair of the Equal Opportunity Committee of the Law Council of Australia. Ms Kirton is quoted as referring to the Bar Chambers as the last......
According to this article by Felicity Nelson which appeared in Lawyers Weekly on 7 August 2015, Harmers, a three office workplace firm, has put into place a flexible work policy that has seen the majority of its senior management and board members working part-time. To......
This article by Lara Bullock which appeared in Lawyers Weekly on 22 February 2016 suggests that if the legal industry wants to achieve true diversity, it must stop asking questions that assume gender roles. Diversity continues to be a hot-button issue in the legal profession......
According to this article by Stephanie Peating which appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald on 2 September 2015, the gender pay gap will continue to widen if the government’s changes to paid parental leave are passed by the Senate, the outgoing federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner......
According to this article by Richard Ackland which appeared in The Guardian on 8 September 2015, over half of all law graduates are women and so is more than 20{6c0a4e1ac7e55840cfe639ecf4b11dafaf03aa04ee92fd19e6f871f32a3a63fe} of the NSW bar. Yet this year, women make up less than 10{6c0a4e1ac7e5584...
In this article which appeared in the Journal of the New South Wales Bar Association, [2015] (winter) Bar News 30, Ingmar Taylor SC, in a reprise of his seminal 2002 Bar News article, asks: Can you succeed at the bar while having child care responsibilities,......
This report issued by the World Bank on 9 September 2015 measures legal and regulatory barriers to women’s entrepreneurship and employment in 173 economies. It provides quantitative measures of laws and regulations that affect women’s economic opportunities in seven areas: accessing institutions...
Two very different articles have appeared in the media recently in relation the appointment of women judges. On 21 September 2015, in an article published by the UK Telegraph, Lexi Finnigan quoted from an interview with Lord Sumption in an article titled “No rush for......
The Law Society of South Australia will decide whether to introduce minimum quotas for female and male representatives at its upcoming AGM. If the proposal succeeds on 26 October, the Law Society will become the first in Australia to implement quotas on its council and......
According to this article by Stefanie Garber which appeared in Lawyers Weekly on 19 October 2015, exclusive research by Lawyers Weekly has revealed which firms are most popular among male and female lawyers. Lawyers Weekly’s employer of choice survey identified the top 25 law firms......
This article by Lara Bullock appeared in Lawyers Weekly on 21 March 2016. According to it, an online documentary series starring five executives, including a Corrs Chambers Westgarth partner and a Telstra in-house counsel, has followed their journey to putting flexible work into practice for......
According to this article by Stefanie Garber which appeared in Lawyers Weekly on 20 October 2015, the percentage of women who are partners is slowly climbing, though some firms continue to have a poor track record. A new study by the Women Lawyers Association of......
On Tuesday 3 November 2015, AWL issued the attached press release, Where are the women judges. Lawyers weekly referred to the press release in its article, AWL questions federal level court appointments, written by Lara Bulock and published on 6 November 2015. To read the article,......
According to this article by Felicity Nelson which appeared in Lawyers Weekly on 5 November 2015, while the majority of Australian in-house counsel are women, a new study has shown that most still earn less than men. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s (ACC’s) global census......
Australian Women Lawyers congratulates the Law Society of South Australia members for voting to support moves to provide greater equity. In an Australian first, the Law Society of South Australia’s Annual General Meeting on 26 October 2015 voted to have equal representation of the metropolitan m...
Congratulations to Past President Amy Challans who was awarded the Inaugural Gender Equity in the Law Award at the Law Society of South Australia Gala Dinner on Friday 5 September 2015. Thanks go to Rocky Perrotta, President of the LSSA, and Claire O’Connor SC and......
Western Australia The Law Society of Western Australia President, Matthew Keogh has reiterated the long standing position of the WA Law society to oppose the death penalty in both a message to WA Law Society members and in a welcome address to the WA Society’s......
According to its media release issued 19 November 2015, the Fair Work Ombudsman now allocates more than half of its legal work to female barristers. Last financial year, the Agency briefed 56 female barristers and 34 men for its legal work. This compares to its use......
According to this article by Felicity Nelson published in Lawyers Weekly on 26 October 2015, a new report by the Law Society of South Australia has revealed that female lawyers earn substantially less than male lawyers with the same level of experience. The Practising Certificate......
AWL has been approached by a Univeristy of Queensland Psychology student who is involved in a study into the perceptions of family friendly policies in the workplace. She would like to consult with women lawyers, and diversity / inclusion managers at law firms (as well......
There were a number of very interesting and relevant article on Radio National Sunday Extra on 8 March 2015. These included: – Background Briefing “Left in Harm’s Way” about the cutting of funding to domestic violence services in rural Australia – this link is to......
On 10 March 2015 the Women Lawyers Association of the ACT held a mentors breakfast in celebration of International Women’s Day. In April, they will be holding an event to further the issues identified in the NARS report. To keep up with what is happening......
On Monday night, 9 March 2015, Annabel Crabb hosted a Q&A panel comprising the Hon Julie Bishop, academics and authors Germaine Greer and Roxane Gay, Best & Less CEO Holly Kramer and Youth Without Borders founder and petrol head Yassmin Abdel-Magied. You can download the......
On 28 April 2015, the Hon Julia Gillard will be speaking at a fundraiser breakfast to benefit the Women’s Legal Service Tasmania. The breakfast will be held at Wrest Point, Hobart and hosted by Tori Hodgman. For more information, including how to book, go to......
The Australian Volunteers for International Development Program is an Australian Government initiative that currently has opportunities available that may be of interest to members. Those opportunities include such things as: – Gender and Legal Expert with the Law and Policy Department of the ...
Women Lawyers Association of New South Wales recently launched its 2015 program, themed engagement, with a cocktail party that raised $1,500 for The Katrina Dawson Foundation. Recipient of the 2014 AWL Woman Lawyer Award, Professor Ros Croucher spoke at the cocktail function. WLANSW’s next fun...
The Trailblazing Women in the Law Project receives Australian Research Council funding to assist in the establishment of an online exhibition to showcase the many women who have blazed a trial into the legal profession. But, that funding does not cover all of the Project’s......
Women Lawyers of WA has released an executive summary of the 20th Anniversary Review – Gender Bias in the Law. The executive summary highlights some of the most important recomendations made in the report to combat gender bias and improve access to justice. WLWA commends......
Victorian Women Lawyers has published Portia 2014. You can find Portia 2014 at http://www.vwl.asn.au. As well as reporting on events through the year and the committees’ work, it includes a number of interesting articles on topics such as, the portrayal of women in the 21st......
According to this article by Stefanie Garber which appeared in Lawyers Weekly on 11 November 2015, more than 10 firms and government agencies have committed to equitable briefing targets under a new program launched by the Victorian Commercial Bar. The initiative, spearheaded by CommBar in......
One of the speakers at AWL2014 was Catherine Fletcher. Her topic there was recent research about gender bias faced by women in the criminal justice system. In a past life, Catherine was a surfer on the National circuit. In the week of the iconic Bells......
On Friday 13 March 2015, the Law Council of Australia held a roundtable meeting to discuss how best to respond to the finding of the National Attrition and Retention Survey and, in particular, to share information, discuss the challenges faced by the Law Council’s constituent......
According to this mornining briefing article which was published in the Australasian Lawyer on 13 April 2015, a report by Skarbeck Associates points to how attitudes and practices still hinder women’s participation in the legal profession, and how these outdated attitudes and practices are det...
The Victoria Women Lawyers and HREOC have launched a new bid to tackle legal profession gender imbalance. Their most recent action is to publish updated “Flexible Work Protocols: a best practice guide for productive and engaged legal workplaces”. You can read more about the launch......
The Federal Government has announced that Michelle Gordon will be the next Justice of the High Court of Australia. To read more about this appointment and Her Honour: on ABC Online, go to http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-14/michelle-gordon-appointed-justice-of-high-court-of-australia/6392072 in La...
According to this article by Felicity Nelson which appeared in Lawyers Weekly on 19 November 2015, NSW Bar Association president Jane Needham SC has signed off with a call for the council to continue to “fight the good fight” on behalf of its members and......
As societies become more equal and every individual’s productive capacity is valued and engaged, economies become more resilient.To build such a society, the key is inclusiveness—to make sure that no group is kept at the margins and subjected to exploitation. One particular group that deserves.....
According to this article by Lara Bullock which appeared in Lawyers Weekly on 1 December 2015, the Chief Justice of the NSW Supreme Court has recently spoken about the importance of remembering how far the legal profession has come rather than just focus on the negatives.......
The State Government has released its 2015 Women’s Report Card, providing an overview of the progress of women in Western Australia. In her media release dated 18 December 2015, Women’s Interests Minister Liza Harvey said the report, issued every three years, was the latest update......
According to this article by Felicity Cook which appeared in Lawyers Weekly on 8 January 2016, family law specialists and legal aid lawyers in Queensland are gearing up for a busy year, with domestic violence hotlines ringing off the hook. Speaking with Lawyers Weekly, Angela......
According to this article by Lara Bullock which appeared in Lawyers Weekly on 8 January 2016, despite the controversy around promotion quotas, the banking and capital markets leader at PwC has claimed they could close the gender pay gap. Speaking at the launch of the......
According to this article by Lara Bullock which appeared in Lawyers Weekly on 22 March 2016, in mid March 2016 the Women Lawyers Association of NSW held an event to acknowledge the 14 female judicial appointments in the Federal and NSW Courts over the last two......