The Evolution of Women in the Legal Profession: From Sexism to Leadership

In a column for the NZ Herald published on Sunday Deborah Chambers KC argues that while female lawyers face a vastly improved professional landscape compared to previous decades, significant barriers around major court briefs and workplace harassment remain.

Chambers examines the historical hurdles for women in the legal profession through the memoir of Dame Silvia Cartwright, titled That Woman, NZ Herald reported. Cartwright was one of only two women in her 1960s Otago law class and later became the first woman judge of the High Court in 1993.

Cartwright faced overt sexism when entering the workforce, according to the NZ Herald report. She secured her first clerkship over 10 male applicants while receiving lower pay, was told she was hired because she had the best legs, and had to change in a toilet because the court robing room was strictly for men.

When Chambers entered the profession in 1983, unwritten policies against female partners remained common across law firms. Chambers wrote that early firms wanted homogeneity, preferring male applicants from specific schools and social backgrounds who would not rock the boat.

Most women lawyers of Chambers’ generation experienced some form of sexual harassment, which they kept quiet to protect fragile careers, she wrote in the NZ Herald column. Judges frequently gave less weight to female submissions, and clients routinely requested male litigators.

Change accelerated as women flooded law schools, eventually making up half of all graduates. Simpson Grierson chair Pip Muir said that when she made partner in the late 1980s, only three of the firm’s 40 partners were women, whereas female representation at the firm sits at 40% today.

Despite these gains, progress remains uneven across different legal specialties. Women have gained a strong foothold in commercial firms acting for banks, but female litigators face persistent difficulties securing an equal share of major briefs and leadership roles in higher courts.

Harassment also persists as an unfinished task within the profession, with young female lawyers remaining hesitant to file complaints due to career anxiety. Chambers said that the current New Zealand Law Society structure handles harassment poorly and requires specialist personnel and processes.

Young women entering law today face a far less discriminatory environment than earlier generations, Chambers concluded. However, balancing grueling private practice hours with young children continues to push talented women away from private firms and into government or in-house roles.