At just 45 years of age, Justice Penelope Kari has gone from solicitor to barrister and now the first Australian of Greek descent to be appointed Honorable Justice to the Federal Circuit & Family Court of Australia.
In an interview with The Australian, Justice Kari says her success in South Australia’s legal industry wasn’t planned but rather she “turned off the white noise.”
She says her narrative has also been “coloured” by her grandparents, who migrated to Australia from Greece in the 1950s, and her parents, who worked multiple jobs to send her to a private school.
“I grew up being told you can do anything you set your mind to,” Justice Kari told the newspaper.
“And that is true – but women have a different mentality and expectation on themselves, and that includes invariably being the nurturing parent and being the wife who makes the meals and all the bits and pieces. If you want to do it all really well, something has to give.”
It’s here where the conversation turns to Justice Kari’s thoughts on gender in law. She notes the gender imbalance among judges but argues she’s “not a believer in the boys’ club holding women back.”
Rather, she encourages women who want to get into law “to focus on being the best you can be and doors will open for you.”
“If you focus on what is holding you back, then that is a distraction. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing, it is not a competition,” she concludes in the interview.
Source: The Australian.
