Tuesday, 8 March 2022

Ministers statements: women in the law

Ms SYMES (Northern Victoria—Leader of the Government, Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:10): I want to take the opportunity on International Women’s Day to highlight some incredible achievements of women in the legal profession. Last week I was honoured to be included as a presenter in the Law Institute of Victoria’s address to the profession for 2022, joining an all-female line-up with the Chief Justice, the Honourable Anne Ferguson, and the legal services commissioner, Fiona McLeay. The session was moderated by law institute president Tania Wolff. It certainly was not that long ago that we were talking about the first woman Chief Justice, the first woman Attorney-General, the first woman president of the law institute and the first woman legal services commissioner. And while there are a few more firsts to get out of the way, I am proud that Victoria has so many capable, inspirational women leaders in the law.

Alongside the panel from last week we also have women in the roles of solicitor-general, DPP, Chief Magistrate, president of VCAT, president of the bar council, CEO of Victoria Legal Aid and many more senior roles across the judiciary and the profession. What this says and what this shows is a great message to the next generation of female lawyers: that the highest levels of achievement are not out of your reach. They also set the tone for a profession that has no tolerance for inappropriate behaviour and no tolerance for sexual harassment and that supports anyone who experiences it. I would say to the lawyers of tomorrow: the leaders of your profession have a shared commitment to making sexual harassment a thing of the past.

But we cannot rest on our laurels. There is a particular need to get more women from diverse backgrounds into the law and its leadership positions. As Melbourne lawyer Nyadol Nyuon wrote in the Age today:

… we still live in a world where the full potential of women’s contributions remains untapped or even thwarted.

That is something that we can all work together to change.