President’s Message

It’s incumbent on all of us to improve workplace culture

REBECCA SANDFORD, PRESIDENT

Akey focus during my Presidency this year has been the inquiry into sexual harassment in the legal profession, and the profession’s response to those findings. The (Acting) Equal Opportunity Commissioner’s comprehensive Report,1 released in April, was a sobering and confronting read. I acknowledge numerous media reports this year discussing sexual harassment have been triggering and painful for many people, and for many practitioners, the release of the Report was a difficult reminder of traumatising events. I remain exceptionally grateful to those who have bravely shared their experiences so that we can all better understand the problems faced by the profession in this area.

The Report unfortunately, and sadly as anticipated, reinforced findings from numerous surveys in recent years, including the Society’s 2018 survey. Amongst other things, the Report confirmed that “harassment is indeed prevalent in this sector”, with 42% of practitioner survey respondents having experienced sexual or discriminatory harassment, including one-third who had experienced it more than once.

We inarguably have a problem with harassment in the legal profession, and it is well past time for this to end. We may not be the only ones dealing with these issues, but there can be no more excuses for failing to ensure the profession is a safe, respectful, inclusive and supportive workplace. It is a privilege and an honour to be a legal practitioner and it is critical that having chosen to take on that responsibility, we each do our part to ensure the community’s trust in the profession can be maintained. That includes holding ourselves, and each other, to the highest standards of behaviour. The public expects us, as noted by Ms Halliday, to “serve as an exemplar for workplaces across our community”. The Report demonstrates we have not yet met that expectation in this respect.

The Report makes it clear that the problem and its solutions sit at an organisational and a cultural level, and action is needed at various levels and by multiple bodies, institutions and individuals, to ensure change happens and sticks. As noted in the Report, “although it is frustrating and disappointing that this scourge persists in our profession, these are the very workplaces that can – and should – lead change in this area and there are already definite signs of improvement».”

The profession is complex and multifaceted and it stands to reason that there will not be a single quick fix solution. It will take concerted ongoing effort by everyone - solicitors, barristers, the judiciary, universities, and everyone working in the justice sector - to make meaningful and long-lasting change, and we must all do our part. Uncomfortable as it is to accept, each of us in the profession has contributed (though often unintentionally) in some way to the current state of affairs. The good news, though, is that means each of us can similarly contribute to positive change. We are all representatives for the profession and responsible for its culture, and everyone needs to take ownership of this issue.

Individual action

Ruth Bader Ginsberg said: “real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time”, and it is often true that big cultural shifts occur through numerous small acts by individuals, leading to notable ‘tipping points’. Just a few ideas for individual action include: • Undertake bystander training. Arrange it for your workplace. Talk to colleagues and friends about what you have learned, and practice using active bystander frameworks. • Regularly review workplace policies and procedures - ensure they are clear, accessible, and include confidential and robust complaint reporting processes.

Ensure induction training is led by

senior practitioners so junior employees understand that commitment to appropriate standards of behaviour comes from the top. Run regular update sessions for all employees. • Use, and encourage use of, external complaint and support mechanisms to address serious conduct. • Call out inappropriate behaviour where you see it and it is safe for you to do so. Bystander tools can assist. This can be done by anyone and is especially important for those in leadership roles, whose behaviour guides that of the organisation. Where possible, do this respectfully, empathetically and having regard to the support needs and wishes of those subjected to the inappropriate conduct. • Make briefing and client engagement choices which reflect, and reinforce, a commitment to prioritising workplace safety. • Reflect on your own behaviour and commit to learning and changing where needed, including to better support colleagues and friends in the profession who have experienced harassment.

The Society’s Next Steps

The Society has been committed to doing its part to address sexual harassment and encourage positive cultural change in the profession for some time.2 I want to particularly acknowledge important work done to that end by many trailblazing women lawyers in South Australia, including past President Amy Nikolovski, who made this issue a focus during her presidency. The Society will continue to maintain attention on this topic throughout, and beyond, 2021 - we remain strongly committed to helping eradicate unacceptable conduct in the profession and ensuring we can all be safe and respected in our workplaces.

Without limiting steps the Society may take, the Council recently resolved to focus