The first and last (?) feminist law professors in Australia

Abstract

As ‘the professor’ occupies the top rung of the academic career ladder in Australia, the position has conventionally been marked as masculine. The first woman law professor was appointed only in 1967, with two more over the next 20 years. However, in the following 20 years (1990s and 2000s), another 20 women were appointed, most of whom identified as feminist scholars. Based on interviews with 14 of these women, this chapter analyses their experiences in challenging prevailing malestream norms. It considers the significance of feminism for career trajectories, relationships with colleagues, the teaching of feminist legal theory and the increasing managerialism of universities. The inference is that feminism is closely imbricated with the dominant political mood of the day. The neoliberal turn had the effect of undervaluing feminist legal scholarship in a context that prioritises applied knowledge and vocationalism over critique, which induced some feminist professors to leave the academy. The chapter questions whether such trends are evidence of ‘post-feminism’ in the legal academy. Show more