Elizabeth BroderickAO is an Australian lawyer, who was the AustralianSex Discrimination Commissioner for over eight years from 2007 to 2015 and has been aUnited Nations special rapporteur for Discrimination against Women and Girls since 2017. She is a former partner and head of legal technology atAshurst Australia (then called Blake Dawson Waldron), a global commercial law firm.
Broderick grew up inCaringbah, New South Wales as the daughter of a doctor and physiotherapist, Frank and Margot. She has two sisters including anidentical twin, emeritus ProfessorJane LatimerAO,[1][2] andCarolyn Broderick.[3] Elizabeth Broderick was head girl in 1978 atMeriden School,Strathfield while Jane Latimer was head girl atMLC School in neighbouringBurwood in the same year.[3]
Broderick is trained as a lawyer. She has spoken publicly about her own experiences ofsexual harassment by a client as a young lawyer.[4]
At law firm Blake Dawson Waldron (nowAshurst), Broderick worked part-time for twelve years while she was a partner - the first partner at the firm to work part-time.[5] She also created a database giving people legal advice at low cost. Broderick was named "Telstra NSW Business Woman of the Year" (2000–2001).[3]
Broderick was appointedSex Discrimination Commissioner byPrime MinisterJohn Howard in 2007. Her term was extended by theRudd government and again by theAbbott government.[2] As Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Broderick worked on equal-pay cases, "proposed a model for the paid parental leave scheme", and commented publicly on sexual harassment cases.[3]
Broderick persuaded some of "the most powerful men in the country" to publicly commit to being part of a group called Male Champions of Change (MCC) and take action on gender inequality.[4] The group is still active and has inspired the creation of many MCC groups in other sectors, including architecture,[6] property,[7] elite sports[8] and in Victoria.[9] Current members of the Founding MCC group include,Alan Joyce, Kevin McCann,Martin Parkinson,David Thodey and Lieutenant GeneralDavid Morrison.[10]
The Male Champions of Change have released progress reports in 2011,[11] 2013[12] and 2014.[13] They also partnered withChief Executive Women to develop a model for leaders to use in order to examine their own actions and "Leadership Shadow".[14]
In 2014, Broderick published a fourth and final report on gender-discriminatory practices in theAustralian Defence Force.[15]
Broderick finished up as Sex Discrimination Commissioner in 2015 and was succeeded byKate Jenkins.[2][16][17]
Broderick established her own consultancy specialising in gender equality and was then appointed by theUnited Nations as aSpecial Rapporteur for theWorking Group on [de]Discrimination against Women and Girls in 2017.[2] She works alongside four other female experts to report to theHuman Rights Council in Geneva on discrimination against women around the world.[2] She served until 2023 and she was succeeded by the American law professorClaudia Flores.[18]
In 2018, Broderick launched Male Champions of Change globally.[2]
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