For Elizabeth Evatt AC, forging a long and illustrious career was no easy feat. But she did it, and her legacy is something for which many women can be grateful. She speaks to Claire Chaffey

With a family like hers, Elizabeth Evatt AC was probably never going to be ordinary. Her father, Clive Evatt, was a brilliant advocate and leading light in Australia’s labour movement, and her uncle, Dr Herbert Vere “Doc” Evatt, was arguably one of Australia’s most influential lawyers and political leaders.

Clive and Doc Evatt were both recognised as being brilliant orators, men of principle, and well ahead of their time.

It’s not surprising, then, that Elizabeth Evatt also became known for these traits. Pursuing a career in law at the behest of her father,

Evatt was the youngest student to ever commence a law degree at Sydney University – at a time when ther were only a handful of women venturing into what was a male-dominated world.

This didn’t bother Evatt too much, though, and the girls banded together in their segregated common room to show the boys how things were done – which she did, by winning the University Medal and being the first-ever woman to do so.

“To provide a legal service accessible to the whole community is a huge challenge, [as is] ensuring that human rights and justice principles are followed through, and everybody has a chance to access justice”

After being admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1955, Evatt won a scholarship to study at Harvard University. She attained a Masters in 1956 and, soon after, began working as a barrister in London. Evatt was to spend many years in London, and although the Bar would not always be her home, the challenges she faced would always remain.

“There weren’t very many women lawyers in London. It was harder for women to get a start at the Bar in those days,” she says.

“There were one or two women silks, but it wasn’t until the mid-60s that a woman was appointed to the bench. Things moved as slowly there as they did here. In the 70s, things started to move more quickly, but in the 50s and 60s, things went rather slowly.”

Taking the high road

In 1968, Evatt made a decision which would take her career in a very different direction: she left the Bar to join Lord Scarman at the English Law Commission – a decision which Evatt says was partly due to the difficulty of having a family whilst juggling a career at the Bar.

In 1973, Evatt returned to Australia, taking up the role of deputy president of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. One year later, she embarked on an adventure which she says was the highlight of her illustrious career: the Royal Commission of Human Relationships.

Evatt was named chairman of the Commission, working alongside Anne Deveson and Felix Arnott, and was tasked with exploring intimate and family relationships during a time of significant social change.

“We took the opportunity to go all around Australia and have public hearings and private discussions, go to lots of places and meet with lots of people,” she says. “It was a fantastic opportunity to get an overview of Australia and the social and legal issues that people were dealing with at that time. That was a very special time. It was when the women’s movement was strong and there was a real feeling of change in the air.”

“To provide a legal service accessible to the whole community is a huge challenge, [as is] ensuring that human rights and justice principles are followed through, and everybody has a chance to access justice”

For one thing, Gough Whitlam had been running the country (and had indeed sanctioned the Commission) and was determined to elevate the status of women and achieve equal opportunity – so much so that

Evatt credits Whitlam with facilitating much of her career success. “I have been fortunate,” she says. “I happened to be reasonably well placed in the Whitlam era, which came as it did in the time of the women’s liberation movement. They coincided, so women were given more opportunities then.”

In 1977 – the same year Whitlam resigned as leader of the Labor Party after losing yet another election – Evatt handed down the Commission’s final report. She had, in the meantime, been appointed as the founding chief judge of the Family Court of Australia – another achievement she cites as a career highlight, and a position she held until 1988.

Achieving social justice

When the 1990s arrived, Evatt’s focus became dominated by human rights and social justice issues.

In 1988, she had been appointed president of the Australian Law Reform Commission, during which time she also chaired the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. In 1992, she was the first Australian elected to the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

Evatt receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Women Lawyers' Association of NSW in September

From 1995 to 1998, Evatt was the part time Commissioner of the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and, between 1998 and 2007 she served two consecutive terms as a judge of a tribunal of the World Bank, during which time she was also elected as a Commissioner of the International Committee of Jurists.

Evatt’s career has been remarkable, spanning many decades and bearing witness to great change.

“The legal profession has changed in step with the way that our society has changed,” she says.

“Australia has changed enormously in its economic infrastructure. Years ago, we were seen as primary production, but now we’ve got major commercial enterprises of all kinds, and the legal profession has increased considerably in its service to the corporate sector.

“For so many firms, that is pretty well all they do. They have combined with each other, not just around Australia, but internationally, so the legal profession has become national and international, and far more diverse and more into corporate and commercial areas.”

This corporate focus, says Evatt, means adhering to issues of justice and human rights has become increasingly difficult for lawyers. “The greatest challenge they’ve got is to provide a decent service to the public without charging too much. Lawyers are very expensive for people, and there is not enough legal aid around for most,” she says.

The ongoing battle

While Evatt says the growth of alternative legal groups, such as the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, and the network of community legal centres is an extremely positive development, she still sees a career in law as a struggle for women.

“Women lawyers face the same challenges that have always been there: to get a fair crack of the whip in the profession as well as manage home and family,” she says. “Despite the fact that the younger generations of men do pick up family duties – and I think that is great, far more than in my generation – the ultimate burden does rest on women. It has been hard for women at the Bar and in practice to pursue those types of careers.”

But Evatt points out that many women have managed to do it – and one must include her in that honour list – but, at the age of 78, she now prefers to “work behind the scenes” with groups such as the ICJ and the New York-based women’s group, Equality Now.

When asked if there are any more major achievements up her sleeve, Evatt simply laughs. “I am 78, darling! Don’t ask me what’s next – it’s too grim to think about!” We can perhaps forgive her for swapping grand ambition for cycling, gardening, writing and music these days, especially given she has achieved the rare honour, earlier this year, of finding herself on a special edition postage stamp alongside other “eminent women” Eva Cox AO, Germaine Greer and Anne Summers AO.

“I had to hide my face when I went into the Post Office earlier in the year,” she laughs. “But it is tremendous that we were recognised in that way. All our women friends – the feminist friends – were all quite happy to have that recognised. “We were representatives, really, of a wider movement.”