International Women’s Day Celebrations with Ellie Neuendorf (’11)

The theme for International Women’s Day this year was Balance the Scales, a promise to every woman and girl that they should feel safe, heard and free to shape their own lives, seek fair representation and protection by the law, and break down the structural barriers of the legal system that have historically blocked justice. As UN Women Australia announced, “When women and girls stand equal, families are stronger, workplaces are fairer, communities thrive, and society becomes safer for everyone.”

With this timley theme, St Margaret’s warmly welcomed back Old Girl Ellie Neuendorf (’11) to be the guest speaker at this year’s International Women’s Day assembly. Ellie grew up on the Sunshine Coast before attending St Margaret's, graduating in 2011 as a proud Boarder with a love of legal studies, but no clear idea of the career path ahead. After school, Ellie took a gap year, determined to save, learn, and explore her options. Ellie commenced a dual degree in Law and Business in 2013 at the Queensland University of Technology.

The years that followed were full of study, living on ski fields in Canada, and gaining legal work experience. In the final stretch of her dual degree, Ellie worked as a paralegal in a barristers’ chambers in Brisbane, cementing her passion for advocacy.

In 2021, Ellie was appointed as the Associate to a Judge of the District Court of Queensland and spent 12 months observing and learning in Court each day. Ellie was admitted as a Solicitor in 2021 and commenced as a lawyer at HopgoodGanim Lawyers in 2022. Today, she works as an Associate in the Family and Relationship Law team at that firm, building a career grounded in empathy, resilience, and a genuine desire to help clients navigate complex moments in their lives.

Through it all, Ellie maintains that she is a very proud Old Girl of St Margaret’s, who cherishes her strong friendships with the girls from her cohort.

In her address, Ellie brought a sense of relatability that allowed the girls to see their future selves in Ellie and what their own career and life could look like 15 years out of school.

“In 2011, I was sitting exactly where you are now: a student at St Margaret’s. I was living on campus as a Boarder, with the privilege to be here to learn, grow, make wonderful friendships and lifelong connections. I was the type of student who enjoyed making new friends, I was enthusiastic about fundraising, I enjoyed public speaking, and legal studies became one of my favourite subjects. But, as my final years of school came to its conclusion, there was one question I could not answer: What do you want to be?”

“I did not learn the answer for many years as it is a difficult question to be asked in your formative years. For me it took real life work experiences, living overseas and travelling to foreign countries to properly understand my skills, interests and create a career path I wanted for myself. However, before I had those experiences, I appreciated from a young age that you need to walk through the doors that open for you. Say yes to opportunities. Value relationships with all different types of people. Work hard and continue to ask questions. And importantly, look for women who show you what is possible.”

Female role models have been an incredibly important aspect of Ellie’s own career and individual growth, who have instilled in her the confidence, conviction and capability to walk into the world knowing exactly who she is and remaining true to her values.

“I have had and continue to have in my life strong female role models, starting with my mother, Karen Neuendorf OAM, who fiercely taught my sister and I that there is always a place for women in business. Both my parents demonstrated to me what a true partnership looks like where they support each other personally and professionally. I have been fortunate to have witnessed many women in leadership who showed me that intelligence and kindness are not opposites, but strengths that belong together. I have worked with female judges, female barristers and senior women in law who demonstrate that you can be both compassionate and formidable. I work alongside many determined female colleagues who advance the legal industry and push boundaries to create space for other women. I see women balancing careers, families, community work and friendships; not perfectly, but intentionally.”

“Because of them, I have never doubted that I belong in my chosen profession, I feel comfortable to participate in all conversations and to appear in a courtroom. However, the stark reality is that many girls and women do not have the same experiences as me. In 2026, there continues to be ingrained barriers within society and our legal system. Inequality in the legal system continues to stem from disparities in resources, system bias and unconscious bias based on race, gender or disability. Although women now make up the majority of Australian lawyers, which is something to celebrate, we remain significantly under-represented in senior roles, including partnerships and senior counsel.”  

“To celebrate International Women’s Day 2026, we focus on the theme Balance the Scales, the recognition for greater efforts to create gender equality.”

When introducing the theme, the CEO of UN Women Australia, Simone Clarke said: Balance the Scales is a promise for every woman and girl to be safe, heard, and free to shape her own future. In 2026, unjust laws, policies, and ingrained barriers still stand in the way of fair and inclusive communities. This International Women’s Day, we are calling on Australians to join a movement for real action – to transform our justice systems, amplify marginalised voices, and ensure equality is not the exception, but the rule. Ms Clarke added: True progress takes more than words. Together, we have the power to dismantle discriminatory systems, unlock transformation, and deliver justice, safety, and dignity for all women and girls.

“Some of you will be familiar with the scales as a symbol of the law, for example, the Lady of Justice. In Brisbane, outside the Supreme and District Courts of Queensland, stands a tall woman statue holding a sword in one hand and scales in the other. When looking at this statue you might be reminded that for the scales to be balanced, each side must carry equal weight. However, the conversation can go much further, and these scales can be symbols for issues within our society such as systemic inequality.”

Ellie spoke about the individual and collective role we can take in joining the movement to Balance the Scales, most aptly through the example set by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or RBG.

“RBG was born in New York, USA in 1933 and grew up at a time when the scales were very unbalanced. Before she became a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1993, RBG was a young woman studying law at Harvard in the 1950s. She was one of just nine women in a class of more than 500 men. RBG later graduated from Columbia Law School at the top of her class, however still struggled to find employment because she was a woman and a mother. The scales were unbalanced and RBG decided to change them.

“Rather than simply pushing against the system from the outside, she used the law itself, carefully, strategically, persistently, to tip the scales toward equality. Case by case, she dismantled laws that treated women as less capable, less deserving, or less independent than men. RBG encouraged people to stand up and say ‘This is not equal and it must be.’

“Now you might be thinking: That’s inspiring… but what does that have to do with me? I’m still at school,” Ellie remarked.

“It has everything to do with you. Because the scales are still not balanced and there are many girls and women who continue to have discriminatory experiences like RBG. And the responsibility is on each of us to be conscious of the imbalance.

“RBG once said ‘Fight for the things that you care about but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.’ You do not need to wait until you have a job title or degree to fight for the things you care about. It starts now, here at school, in the playground, in classrooms, in friendships and in how you speak about yourselves and other girls.”

Ellie emphasised that balancing the scales starts with:

• Refusing to underestimate yourself.
• Refusing to participate in ways that tear other girls down.
• Refusing to accept ‘that’s just how it is’ when something feels unfair.

“It starts with asking questions. Using your voice and daring to take up space.

“I decided that I wanted to be a family lawyer and I now work with clients who are often facing the most vulnerable moments of their lives. Every day I speak to women who are leaving difficult relationships, mothers trying to recognise risk factors which could impact their children and women who have limited financial autonomy and have been financially dependent on their partner.

“My job often causes me to reflect about my own personal circumstances and how fortunate I have been. I think about the stability I grew up with. The confidence and financial literacy I was encouraged to develop. The strong voice I created. The female role models who looked like me and inspired me. The female Judge I worked for who asks rigorous questions and expects high standards and yet she never diminishes the humanity of those before her. I think about the female partners and colleagues I now work with. Women who have built their careers in rooms where they were the minority. I am grateful to all these women who have broken patterns that have run for generations. Patterns of silence, shrinking or swallowing ambition. They have shown me how it is possible to be both compassionate and tough and how to execute the balance of being a hard-working lawyer, a friend, a sister, a colleague and a better version of me today.

“That’s why RBG mattered because millions of girls could see her and think, ‘There is space for me there’. Because of women like RBG and the role models in my life, I did not have to navigate significant challenges to believe I belonged in law. I was able to shape my own future and independently determine what I wanted to be. That is an opportunity which must be afforded to all girls and women and one which we can provide for future generations.”

For Ellie, RBG’s message and that of International Women’s Day extends much beyond the confines of the legal system. Ellie explained the importance of the fact that balancing the scales needs to be reflected in equality in sports, in fair wages, in the way in which we hear and advocate for women’s voices. “You do not have to be a lawyer to be an advocate for equality.”

Ellie encouraged students, and by extension, everyone who is now fortunate to read her speech, to:

• be bold enough to learn how systems work
• be brave enough to challenge those systems when it does not serve fairness
• be kind enough to lift other girls and women as you climb
• be presistent enough to keep going when doors feel heavy to create fair and inclusive opportunties.

By virtue of our community, St Margaret’s alumni are well positioned to actively work towards balancing the scales, much in the way that Ellie exemplifies. Our school was forged on the very idea of balancing the scales through the holistic education of young women, a cornerstone of the Society of the Sacred Advent philosophy that has shaped every single member of our community. May we continue this work and, as Ellie says, be bold, brave, kind and persistent in our efforts to balance the scales.

Lizzie Fowler (’19)

Relationships and Mentoring Manager