Women working in the judiciary system

Blog post by Rachel Lafferty

Women judges in the UK judiciary system seem to be something of a less common occurrence. It is normally thought as a white male’s job or something that women may not want to do; or work to achieve to become. Diversity in the courts and within the justice system is something which has gradually gotten so much better with time; and more women may be starting to feel that they are being treated the same as their fellow male colleagues. Although, it will take time for the feeling of a divide to pass; women’s rights are becoming more and more powerful.

“Women are well represented in the solicitor and Chartered Legal Executive professions, but are less so among the more experienced and more senior members of the legal professions.”

Diversity of the judiciary: Legal professions, new appointments and current post-holders – 2021 Statistics. - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/diversity-of-the-judiciary-2021-statistics

Women are often seen more as solicitors or barristers rather than in the higher, more senior levels of the judiciary. This raises questions as to why this is and why there are fewer female judges (“34% of court judges and 50% of tribunal judges were women as at 1 April 2021. 39% of all judges (courts and tribunals combined) were women.” - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/diversity-of-the-judiciary-2021-statistics/diversity-of-the-judiciary-2021-statistics-report)

Throughout history women were typically seen as homemakers; the main person who stays at home and takes care of the children or maintains the household, whilst the male would work a job or study to obtain a professionalism.

The judiciary has been always been a very male-dominated profession, with women facing a lot of  barriers to entry and promotion. In recent years, there has been an increase in women’s representation, resulting in more women qualifying as lawyers and being appointed to judicial positions. Historically, women were not allowed to become solicitors, nor were they allowed to vote in any debates on parliamentary issues. Women were not given the same rights as men.

“The latest statistics show that, as of April 2022, women represent 35% of all court judges and 52% of all tribunal judges, which is respectively 11 and 9 percentage points higher than in 2014. Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) representation constitutes 10% of all judges (3 percentage points higher than 2014).” – https://www.bangor.ac.uk/news/2022-09-05-judicial-diversity-in-the-uk-is-in-decline-heres-why-that-is-a-problem

A very important piece of legislation is that of the “Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919”. This Act is important because it brought more rights to women and gave them equal opportunities to men. For the first time women could actually be jurors and magistrates; they could be given the rights to enter into any profession they wished. The legislation is as follows:

“A person shall not be disqualified by sex or marriage from the exercise of any public function, or from being appointed to or holding any civil or judicial office or post, or from entering or assuming or carrying on any civil profession or vocation, or for admission to any incorporated society (whether incorporated by Royal Charter or otherwise.” - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/9-10/71/section/1

The Act being brought forward was a turning point in history, the voices of many women were being heard and women’s rights were starting to become a real thing in the UK. The barriers that had been holding women back were finally being brought down, proving the Act had been successful and without it women would still be in the position they had been, with less means to education and no ability to thrive.

Now in this current generation, women are blossoming in their skills and are moving forward to the legal careers and professions they want. This being said, the courts are still more male dominated; but women now have their voice.