Herbert Smith Freehills senior associate Alanna Lofthouse agreed, saying she was grateful to those who lobbied for change to allow women to practice law.

“Since 1918, the number of women in [law] has steadily grown and I think it’s a real achievement that women now comprise about 50 per cent of the legal profession,” she said.

But both see pressing issues to be addressed for women moving forward. Ms Lofthouse identified three key issues: underrepresentation of women in senior leadership roles, the risk of young females changing their work patterns in anticipation of perceived challenges, and the continuing recognition that “the job isn’t done yet” in combating gender inequality.

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Ms Chapple said discussions about diversity need to be inclusive, so as to ensure efforts made are not inadvertently polarising.

“I do not see any of the traits I require to succeed in my career or life as gender-defined, and I expect society to accept me both as a committed professional, and a dependable, present family member and friend,” she said.

“For women in law to continue to thrive, I believe every personal and professional aspiration, role and responsibility should belong to all genders without stereotype. We can achieve this through looking at diversity measures and policies inclusively. Keeping the discussion inclusive is important to achieving change that sticks.”

Women also have to navigate a path to success that contains norms that are “often highly masculine”, she continued.

“I have been told that ‘caring too much’ and being an inherently positive, cheerful person will hold me back in my career. To some, these are traits of weakness. To some, I suffer from the ‘pleasantness’ flaw,” she recounted.

“[Women] will be called emotional or bitchy, they will be judged more for their wardrobe than their wit, people will ask if they can truly give the commitment it takes to be a corporate or legal leader and question their priorities.”

Issues aside, however, both stated there are increasingly more examples of people breaking the leadership mold and continuing to break down the standards and stereotypes of the past must remain a priority for the profession as a whole.

Both women and men have a role to play here, they argued.

From Ms Lofthouse’s perspective, supporting and advocating for female colleagues and engaging in mentoring is a good way for women to boost each other.

“I have watched many female colleagues who, by taking the time to support and advocate for others, have made a difference – to a lawyer’s career, to the outcomes achieved on a matter, and to team and workplace culture,” she said.

Women lawyers coming through the ranks can also help the profession move beyond ‘lip-service’ and ‘poster-girl’ approaches to diversity and inclusion, Ms Chapple added, by pushing for more meaningful measures.

“Women can [also] make a difference by diving deep into the innovation and disruption game. As our world reshapes itself in this innovation era, it is critical that women are well represented among the changemakers,” she said.

“Taking the initiative to be involved in innovation is where women can make a difference.”

Men too have a role to play: they must speak out or act against the “hangovers of the ‘boys club’ legal profession”, Ms Chapple mused.

“Experiences of sexism are by no means a thing of the past. Women are still confronted in their careers by men who underestimate them based on gender, who inappropriately speak to or touch them, who judge them for having a career, or who limit their opportunities because they are women,” she said.

“Silence and abstention are not enough; I implore men to think more about the ways in which women are talked about and treated in their professional and personal lives, and to take action and speak up to help address the issue.”

Doing so doesn’t necessarily mean “public declarations from mountaintops or LinkedIn”, Ms Lofthouse noted, it simply means putting in time and effort to help achieve tangible outcomes.

“Thinking of everyday, practical ways to support a female colleague, hearing and acknowledging the experiences of female colleagues, and supporting and championing structural and cultural changes,” she suggested.

Looking ahead, though, women still have much to be excited about, the pair concluded.

“The decades of women in law before us have brought us to a point where nothing is an impossibility,” Ms Chapple concluded.

“What is exciting is that women lawyers coming through the ranks get to be part of the change,” Ms Lofthouse added.