Taken almost word-for-word from Lawyers Weekly’s Women in Law Awards website, the notice goes on to say a panel of judges had “developed a robust awards methodology to form the backbone for assessing, analysing and benchmarking” leading professionals. It crudely added that “sadly, this expertise will not be called upon in judging nominations”.

The response from women in the profession was swift – this behaviour was unacceptable, “gutless”, and a stark reminder that sexism in the legal profession remains a concern. It also went to show just how much women continue to achieve in the profession.

Posted in its place, the Women Barristers Association’s (WBA) statement said the notice was a reminder that “while the Bar has taken great strides towards equality and inclusion, challenges remain”.

Soon after, the Australian Women Lawyers (AWL) association issued its own statement labelling the notice an “attack on women barristers” which served to “undermine the important effort to promote gender equality and diversity at the Bar and wider profession”.

“Sadly, this latest notice is one instance in a long history of sexist incidents directed toward women barristers,” AWL said.

The Victorian Women Lawyers (VWL) similarly pointed out that the notice was a “reminder that we do still face challenges to diversity and inclusion in our profession”, and it, along with the AWL and WBA, still had vital work ahead of to wipe the negative attitudes from the law.

[Left: notice in elevator. Photo credit: Louise Milligan/@Milliganreports. Right: response from WBA]

Speaking to Lawyers Weekly, Newcastle Law School senior lecturer Dr Kcasey McLoughlin, who has extensively researched the impact of law on women and their legal careers, said the notice and the anonymous author’s message left her “deflated and exasperated”.

“Not so long ago, there was a symbolic moment when a majority of women were sitting on the High Court of Australia … and the sense of there being real progress. Seeing something like this really takes the wind out of your sails in terms of how women are situated within the profession,” Dr McLoughlin told Lawyers Weekly.

Dr McLoughlin added this kind of backlash could be a response to a failure of some, like the notice’s author, to move “with the change” that has come with an increased number of women entering the law.

There have been countless milestones the author may turn their nose up at, including women outnumbering men in the profession or the swearing in of Justice Jayne Jagot, which signalled that the High Court of Australia had hit a female majority for the first time.

Of course, there is also the other side to that, such as more than 60 per cent of women lawyers experiencing sexual harassment and only 31 per cent of briefs being given to woman barristers. In the face of these and many more figures, the “joke” was far from well received.

Sapphire Parsons, a senior lawyer with Macpherson Kelley and winner of the Rising Star of the Year at the 2022 Women in Law Awards, said there was “no clearer sign of disrespect that the post on the lifts”.

“I am furious. Furious that this is still a conversation we must be having. Furious that this behaviour is occurring in the legal profession where our professional standards require us to be courteous in all our dealings and to not bring the legal profession into disrepute.”

“This is why creating pathways and programs to support women into leadership roles is essential to creating change in the profession. It is why the Law Council of Australia’s Equitable Briefing Policy is essential. It is why calling out this behaviour is crucial to change.

“We must do better,” Ms Parsons said.

2022 Women in Law Awards judge and CEO and managing director Claire Bibby added that women reading the notice should look past it and see it for what it is because “attitudes are shifting, and I don’t for one moment believe this view is mainstream in our profession”.

Also speaking to Lawyers Weekly, Australian Law Students’ Association (ALSA) president Annabel Biscotto said that while the intention of the notice may have been to “mock, silence and intimidate” women in law, what it really did was “reinforce our commitment to championing gender equality in the legal profession”.

“If such behaviour goes unchecked, what message are we sending to the next generation of lawyers? No one, regardless of their position within the profession, should be above the law,” Ms Biscotto said.

‘Jokes’ marking decades of sexism in the law

For 20 years, a suggestive painting depicting a naked woman – which had been acquired by Justice Roderick Pitt Meagher in 1974 – had a place on a common room wall in the NSW Bar Association. It remained there until the efforts of trailblazers like barrister Janet Coombs, fed up with the painting, finally won out.

For Dr McLoughlin, the story serves as a reminder that for women, the law “has not been traditionally their place”.

“There is something similar in that someone might dismiss concerns and say ‘it’s just a painting’ or ‘it’s just a joke’, but these kinds of things have an incremental effect in terms of the culture of an institution,” Dr McLoughlin told Lawyers Weekly.

“Of course, people might say ‘it’s a joke’, but these jokes have meaning; they don’t exist in a vacuum.”

[Left to right: Dr Kcasey McLoughlin, Claire Bibby, Annabel Biscotto and Sapphire Parsons]

While working as a general counsel earlier in her career, Ms Bibby said a colleague had her head pushed into a male colleague’s groin, who then attempted to brush it off as “just a joke”.

“Sexism, objectification, and the restrictive nature of traditional gender roles all feed into a culture that creates a barrier to achieving equality and perpetrates violence,” Ms Bibby said.

“If, as a society, we walk past this language and do nothing, or accept it’s ‘just a joke’, we’re sending a message that it’s OK to demean women, the LGBTQI+ community and Indigenous people. And then, if it’s OK to demean them, it’s not too much of a leap to see how harassment and verbal abuse might also feel OK to some.”

After seeing the notice, Dr McLoughlin recalled a quote from Justice Mary Gaudron in 1997 to mark the launch of the Australian Women Lawyers and shared it with her Feminist Legal Theory students.

“Certainly, 30 years ago in New South Wales, many of the women then entering practice rejected membership of the Women Lawyers Association saying, ‘I’m a lawyer, not a woman lawyer, and I have no intention of being identified as such.’ It was an attitude born of the belief that I then shared, namely, that once the doors were open, women would prove that they were every bit as good, and certainly no different from their male counterparts.

“Therein was an insidious untruth, the effects of which are with us still. The truth is that, in some respects, we are the same, but in others, we are different. And when we admit that difference, when we assert our right to be different, we are going to be significantly better lawyers,” Justice Gaudron was quoted as saying.

Reflecting on this again to Lawyers Weekly, Dr McLoughlin said there was this sense of women lawyer’s associations and awards being “illegitimate” and that it was almost dangerous to be associated with them “because they were wearing the identity of a woman rather than a lawyer, as though those things can’t exist in concert”.

“Having seen the post, and then being reminded of Justice Gaudron’s quote, the point being made is a critique of even having women’s organisations and women’s awards. In lots of ways, we have moved beyond that. But the idea that Justice Gaudron points towards is really interesting,” Dr McLoughlin said.

The profession must continue to celebrate women in law

As a former judge of the Women in Law Awards, Ms Bibby said that continuing to identify and celebrate women, particularly in the increased visibility of their achievements, “can help forge equality”.

“If you’ve got a problem with celebrating women in law, you’ve got a problem with gender parity,” Ms Bibby said.

“The latest statistics are that gender parity won’t be achieved for well over a century. That’s probably three generations of your family – i.e., your daughter, your granddaughter and your great-granddaughter. I plan to advocate for mine, but frankly, we should all advocate and support positive change if we believe in equality.”

Similarly, Ms Biscotto said that while her initial reaction to the notice was one of “profound shock”, it is a reminder of why awards, women in law associations and equitable briefings are so important.

“It’s deeply disheartening to witness such blatant disregard and mockery towards the genuine efforts aimed at promoting equality within the legal profession,” Ms Biscotto said.

“The very existence of this poster underscores the need for initiatives like the Women in Law Awards.

“It’s a stark reminder of the challenges we still face, even in 2023.”

Moving forward, it is also important to keep in mind that the notice was anonymous. According to Ms Biscotto, that “speaks volumes”.

“It’s a clear indication of cowardice. Anyone making discriminatory comments towards women in this day and age speaks volumes to their character,” Ms Biscotto told Lawyers Weekly.

Ms Bibby added that she doubts the author of the post would have said this in person, and “most certainly would not” to a client.

“But if I’m wrong about that, I’d invite the author/s to come forward and attach their name to this notice and explain to our profession their intent. I’m fairly sure they don’t have the courage to accept my challenge, or they would have put their name/s to this in the first place. Hiding behind anonymity is a gutless move,” Ms Bibby said.