Women in Property: Mary Pringle, Partner, Clayton Utz
The Property Council sat down with Mary Pringle, Partner at Clayton Utz to find out more about herself and her career journey.
- What do you consider to be your greatest achievements in life? (personally or professionally)
Learning to be resilient – to embrace change, to keep my eyes forward and not focused on the rear mirror, to give new opportunities a darned good shake and to make the most of the journey. My family left Rhodesia soon after I started high school. There was an extremely steep 3-year learning curve to adapt and rebuild in the UK and then in Australia. Having had a great life in Rhodesia, we lived in the home for the homeless in England for a while before getting a Homeswest terrace house. I was clothed out of the school lost property box and we had limited food choices. There is no change I can’t deal with!
- What advice would you give to future leading women in property?
Don’t fear failure. When I look back on my career the most telling leaps in my career occurred when I took a calculated risk and pushed myself well out of my comfort zone.
- What are the greatest challenges you have had to overcome in your career to date?
After many years making my way up the ladder, I don’t believe there is a glass ceiling as such and I don’t like the expression “boys’ club”. They sound deliberately/consciously exclusionary, and I would like to think that is not so in most cases. Especially in Perth where it is pretty much still a man’s world, the challenge has been identifying influential women and also finding supportive men (both clients and peers in Clayton Utz) who will consciously make an effort to include me on merit and not just support the men’s network. Now that I have a certain amount of influence myself, the new challenge has been using it to support high-performing women within my sphere of influence.
- What can/ should the industry be doing to promote women in industry?
I have read articles from the 1800’s about how weak minded women are. How they should stay at home and look after the home front, and definitely not compete with men for jobs. Overcoming that long embedded conditioning is crucial. The most dangerous are those who say all the right things but whose actual actions do not provide any meaningful support for women being equal participants in the work force. I don’t believe in quotas because, unless you are prepared to say /, then to me quotas are meaningless. I also believe in a meritocracy – but it is easy to fudge why men choose other men to promote. That takes me back to the point above essentially concerning unconscious bias. Each organisation needs to devise processes that ensure they are held accountable – not just spout the “right” stuff. That is still a work in progress in most organisations, including at Clayton Utz.
- Did you always want to work in property, if not what were your original plans?
I always wanted to be a lawyer but originally wanted to be a banking and financing lawyer and for a while I was a resources lawyer. I’ve never regretted deciding to work in real estate. I love seeing what I helped establish, and the negotiation process to get there.
- What is the next goal or project you are working towards?
I really enjoying developing people in my team – whether they stay or move on – and it is always a major focus of mine with the team I have at the time. It’s very demanding but very rewarding to be able to have a hand in someone’s growth. One of my team was promoted to Senior Associate this year after an intense year applying a development programme and I am now working intensely with another lawyer.
- How did you come to be a partner in the Perth office of Clayton Utz?
An enormous amount of hard work building my skills coupled with finding men and women (both as clients and peers) to work with – and an element of luck being in the right place at the right time.
- Who have been your greatest influences, both personally and professionally?
Both personally and professionally – my father (a former Freehills partner and QC) and Christian Willing who I replaced as partner at CU when he retired. They both always believed in me and supported me, and still do. It has always been easy for me to have faith in myself as a result and to continue pressing to advance.
- What do you think are the biggest issues affecting the WA property industry?
There are so many, especially given how WA’s economy is currently lagging. Housing affordability, aged care, depressed mining industry, foreign companies competing in Australia on a playing field that gives them an (unfair) advantage over local companies, taxes, energy and water.
- Why did you choose to be involved in the Property Council and what are your thoughts on our various diversity initiatives?
After so many years in the property industry I thought I had something to offer, and that it was about time I took my place at the coal face in dealing with change. I sincerely believe that the WA PCA is one of the organisations that is not just talking the talk but is making serious and important changes (including the well-deserved appointment of the current President and ensuring equal representation on committees).
- What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
Two spring to mind! Elephants need to be eaten a mouthful at a time. Focus on what you can control. I think both apply to the diversity issue.