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The deputy president of the Supreme Court and the only woman among its 12 justices has spoken out against the ‘homogenous’ male, predominantly public school and Oxbridge make-up of the top judges.
Due to retirements, six posts at the UK’s top court will become available between September 2016 and December 2018.
‘If we do not manage to achieve a much more diverse court in the process of filling them, we ought to be ashamed of ourselves,’ Lady Hale told an audience at Birmingham University.
Hale suggested that a search committee could be created to help identify and encourage potential candidates.
Noting its all white and British make-up, she also suggested that the Judicial Appointments Commission should make greater use of the ‘tipping point’ or equal merit provision when appointing senior judges.
Under the Equality Act 2010, where two candidates are of equal merit, selection panels can choose the one from the less represented background in order to increase diversity.
Hale said that ‘diversity of background and experience’ as well as ‘excellence’ is important in appointments.
‘It really bothers me that there are women who know or ought to know that they are as good as the men around them, but who won’t apply for fear of being thought to be appointed just because they are a woman,’ she said.
Hale added that she would be ‘completely unembarrassed’ if she had been appointed because the ‘powers that be realised the need for a woman’, because, she said ‘they were right’.
‘We owe it to our sex, but also to the future of the law and the legal system, to step up to the plate,’ she said.
Her remarks may be seen as a rebuttal of her fellow justice Lord Sumption’s comments that it could take 50 years to achieve gender equality among the senior judiciary. He suggested that any move to hasten that could have ‘appalling consequences’ for the justice system.
Meanwhile, speaking at a conference on Women in Law, Hodge Jones & Allen partner, Sasha Barton, claimed that male barristers make ‘sexual jokes’ in court in order to ingratiate themselves with the predominantly male judges.
Barton said that women lawyers feel pressure to treat sexist comments as harmless banter for fear of being made to feel ‘prudish and humourless’.
The deputy president of the Supreme Court and the only woman among its 12 justices has spoken out against the ‘homogenous’ male, predominantly public school and Oxbridge make-up of the top judges.
Due to retirements, six posts at the UK’s top court will become available between September 2016 and December 2018.
‘If we do not manage to achieve a much more diverse court in the process of filling them, we ought to be ashamed of ourselves,’ Lady Hale told an audience at Birmingham University.
Hale suggested that a search committee could be created to help identify and encourage potential candidates.
Noting its all white and British make-up, she also suggested that the Judicial Appointments Commission should make greater use of the ‘tipping point’ or equal merit provision when appointing senior judges.
Under the Equality Act 2010, where two candidates are of equal merit, selection panels can choose the one from the less represented background in order to increase diversity.
Hale said that ‘diversity of background and experience’ as well as ‘excellence’ is important in appointments.
‘It really bothers me that there are women who know or ought to know that they are as good as the men around them, but who won’t apply for fear of being thought to be appointed just because they are a woman,’ she said.
Hale added that she would be ‘completely unembarrassed’ if she had been appointed because the ‘powers that be realised the need for a woman’, because, she said ‘they were right’.
‘We owe it to our sex, but also to the future of the law and the legal system, to step up to the plate,’ she said.
Her remarks may be seen as a rebuttal of her fellow justice Lord Sumption’s comments that it could take 50 years to achieve gender equality among the senior judiciary. He suggested that any move to hasten that could have ‘appalling consequences’ for the justice system.
Meanwhile, speaking at a conference on Women in Law, Hodge Jones & Allen partner, Sasha Barton, claimed that male barristers make ‘sexual jokes’ in court in order to ingratiate themselves with the predominantly male judges.
Barton said that women lawyers feel pressure to treat sexist comments as harmless banter for fear of being made to feel ‘prudish and humourless’.
Far-ranging month for the Chair of the Bar
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, examines the most recent data on alcohol misuse in the UK, and the implications for alcohol testing in family proceedings
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, explains how tailored financial planning can help barristers take control of their finances and plan with confidence
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
A £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs has been made to the leading UK charity tackling international parental child abduction and the movement of children across international borders
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, outlines the drug and alcohol testing options available for family law professionals, and how a new, free guide can help identify the most appropriate testing method for each specific case
In this wide-ranging interview, Professor Jo Delahunty KC, Family Law KC of the Year, talks to Anthony Inglese CB about the values that shaped her, the moment she found her vocation and, in an intensely personal call to arms, why time is running out for the legal aid Bar
Is the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office process fit for purpose? Women barristers’ experiences of bullying are not being reported or, if they are, they are not making it through the system, says Tana Adkin KC
Thomas Roe KC and Andrew O’Kola respond to an article by Dr Leonardo Raznovich (Counsel , October 2025) – ‘Privy Council colonialism? Piercing the constitutional veil’
Chair of the Bar reports back
The client’s best interests could be well-served by sharing the advocacy with junior counsel more often than you might think – Naomi Cunningham and Charlotte Eves explore some less orthodox ways to divide the speaking role
