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| Number of female judges in UK 'snowballing' despite equality row | Number of female judges in UK 'snowballing' despite equality row |
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| The rate at which women are being appointed judges is gathering momentum in a “snowball effect”, ensuring gender equality on the bench is not that far away despite remarks by supreme court justice Jonathan Sumption – so says a female judge responsible for selection procedures. | |
| Alexandra Marks, a deputy high court judge who sits on the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), dismissed a controversial plea by Lord Sumption last week that there should be no rush to achieve parity as “not very helpful”. | Alexandra Marks, a deputy high court judge who sits on the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), dismissed a controversial plea by Lord Sumption last week that there should be no rush to achieve parity as “not very helpful”. |
| Sumption, who was appointed from being a barrister to be a justice on the UK’s highest court, said it would take half a century for the number of women on the bench to equal the number of men. Any haste might inflict “appalling consequences” on the quality of British justice, he added. | Sumption, who was appointed from being a barrister to be a justice on the UK’s highest court, said it would take half a century for the number of women on the bench to equal the number of men. Any haste might inflict “appalling consequences” on the quality of British justice, he added. |
| In a direct challenge to Sumption, Marks, who has been a judge since 2002 and on the JAC for four years, told the Guardian that his comments were unduly pessimistic. “The suggestion that what we are doing is rushing [to appoint more women] is not very helpful. All sorts of factors are accelerating change. | |
| “I don’t think it’s a linear progression. We are already seeing a snowball effect. That’s what makes it so difficult to estimate what the timeframe will be ... The pace of change is accelerating.” | “I don’t think it’s a linear progression. We are already seeing a snowball effect. That’s what makes it so difficult to estimate what the timeframe will be ... The pace of change is accelerating.” |
| Between 44% and 52% of all recommendations made by the JAC for judicial appointments are currently women, she said: “We had one exercise where eight out of nine candidates recommended were women.” | Between 44% and 52% of all recommendations made by the JAC for judicial appointments are currently women, she said: “We had one exercise where eight out of nine candidates recommended were women.” |
| Slightly more than a quarter of all judges in England and Wales are women but in the higher echelons of the judiciary, the percentage is far lower. There is only one woman, Lady Justice Hale, on the supreme court of 12 justices; only eight of 38 appeal court judges are women. | Slightly more than a quarter of all judges in England and Wales are women but in the higher echelons of the judiciary, the percentage is far lower. There is only one woman, Lady Justice Hale, on the supreme court of 12 justices; only eight of 38 appeal court judges are women. |
| That disproportion in high-profile positions reinforces popular suspicions that some old-boy network or entrenched sexism resists change. The JAC does not oversee appointments to the appeal court and the supreme court. | That disproportion in high-profile positions reinforces popular suspicions that some old-boy network or entrenched sexism resists change. The JAC does not oversee appointments to the appeal court and the supreme court. |
| Related: Sumption encapsulates the law’s sexism: only quotas can challenge male privilege | Charlotte Proudman | Related: Sumption encapsulates the law’s sexism: only quotas can challenge male privilege | Charlotte Proudman |
| But the type of legal candidate being chosen is no longer dependent simply on the traditional criteria of intellectual merit, Marks said. “We are not interested in what school you went to, what law firm or chambers you were at. We are interested in what you can do, what skills you have. Being an excellent advocate is not one of those skills. | But the type of legal candidate being chosen is no longer dependent simply on the traditional criteria of intellectual merit, Marks said. “We are not interested in what school you went to, what law firm or chambers you were at. We are interested in what you can do, what skills you have. Being an excellent advocate is not one of those skills. |
| “What we have identified is the ability to exercise judgment, it’s about integrity, independence of mind, being decisive and fair … You have to have knowledge and the ability to acquire it. | “What we have identified is the ability to exercise judgment, it’s about integrity, independence of mind, being decisive and fair … You have to have knowledge and the ability to acquire it. |
| “You have to be able to assimilate lots of extraneous material, to pick out the essential material and you have to be able to work and connect with other people. Paradoxically, some of the real high fliers, the chancery silks, don’t necessarily have the same experience as [solicitors] who deal directly with [non-lawyer] clients.” | “You have to be able to assimilate lots of extraneous material, to pick out the essential material and you have to be able to work and connect with other people. Paradoxically, some of the real high fliers, the chancery silks, don’t necessarily have the same experience as [solicitors] who deal directly with [non-lawyer] clients.” |
| The most successful and clever lawyers do not necessarily possess the range of skills that the JAC is looking for, Marks stressed. “What’s important is that you develop a rapport, have some empathy for [the defendant or claimant]. Even if they don’t get the outcome they wanted, they will feel they have been listened to. That is at least as important as knowing what section so and so [of the law is]. You can look that up. | The most successful and clever lawyers do not necessarily possess the range of skills that the JAC is looking for, Marks stressed. “What’s important is that you develop a rapport, have some empathy for [the defendant or claimant]. Even if they don’t get the outcome they wanted, they will feel they have been listened to. That is at least as important as knowing what section so and so [of the law is]. You can look that up. |
| “Intellect alone is not enough – although it is a very intellectually demanding job. I find it very stretching. You have to have a threshold of intellectual ability – but you need lots of other things, too.” | “Intellect alone is not enough – although it is a very intellectually demanding job. I find it very stretching. You have to have a threshold of intellectual ability – but you need lots of other things, too.” |
| Marks, 56, is a solicitor by training who rose to become a partner at the City law firm Linklaters. She has two daughters, both now students. On occasions she had to take them to court when they were at primary school – though not to criminal trials. | Marks, 56, is a solicitor by training who rose to become a partner at the City law firm Linklaters. She has two daughters, both now students. On occasions she had to take them to court when they were at primary school – though not to criminal trials. |
| City law firms have in the past been blamed, out of assumed narrow commercial self-interest, for refusing to release successful female solicitor partners so that they can obtain initial experience as part-time judges in lower courts and tribunals. | City law firms have in the past been blamed, out of assumed narrow commercial self-interest, for refusing to release successful female solicitor partners so that they can obtain initial experience as part-time judges in lower courts and tribunals. |
| Marks, however, believes times have changed. She said: “Firms are now much more flexible and open-minded partly because they recognise they have to respond to [their employees’] desire to do other things.” | Marks, however, believes times have changed. She said: “Firms are now much more flexible and open-minded partly because they recognise they have to respond to [their employees’] desire to do other things.” |
| Sumption’s view has been criticised by many prominent women, and men, in the legal profession. Dinah Rose QC, of Blackstone chambers, tweeted: “Lord Sumption knows nothing about the lives of women at the Bar … Here’s what fascinates me: what does Lord Sumption think qualifies him to make these comments? Social scientist as well as a historian?” | Sumption’s view has been criticised by many prominent women, and men, in the legal profession. Dinah Rose QC, of Blackstone chambers, tweeted: “Lord Sumption knows nothing about the lives of women at the Bar … Here’s what fascinates me: what does Lord Sumption think qualifies him to make these comments? Social scientist as well as a historian?” |
| Helen Mountfield QC, of Matrix chambers, in a letter to the Times said: “It is not a lack of effort or hard work that holds women back in the legal profession. Most will work far into the night if that is what it takes to prepare a case properly, even while taking on a disproportionate share of caring and household responsibilities. What are the barriers? Cultural exclusion … Lack of opportunities in a world where senior patrons are overwhelmingly male.” | |
| The public row about gender diversity on the judicial bench has also broadened out into allegations, highlighted by the barrister Charlotte Proudman, about sexism in the legal profession. | The public row about gender diversity on the judicial bench has also broadened out into allegations, highlighted by the barrister Charlotte Proudman, about sexism in the legal profession. |
| Asked whether it was an impediment to progress, Marks said: “Personally, I have never experienced it. Perhaps I have lived a charmed life? Expectations are different now. | |
| Related: Don't rush gender equality in UK judiciary, says supreme court judge | Related: Don't rush gender equality in UK judiciary, says supreme court judge |
| “Society has moved on. There are so many more sexual offences that did not exist before 2003. We have become much less tolerant of sexist behaviour. Maybe that’s why we notice it now. But I don’t think that sexism or discrimination are a factor in [delaying] women’s progression through the profession.” | “Society has moved on. There are so many more sexual offences that did not exist before 2003. We have become much less tolerant of sexist behaviour. Maybe that’s why we notice it now. But I don’t think that sexism or discrimination are a factor in [delaying] women’s progression through the profession.” |
| Marks does not, therefore, believe that introducing positive discrimination or quotas for female judges are necessary – a policy option that the Labour party is considering. | Marks does not, therefore, believe that introducing positive discrimination or quotas for female judges are necessary – a policy option that the Labour party is considering. |
| The JAC’s own recent figures show roughly a 1% increase in the number of women on the bench every year. Even if that rate of change did not increase, parity should be reached in 25 years – half of Sumption’s 50 year estimate. | |
| Improvements made by the Crime and Courts Act, which already permits part-time working and job-sharing for judges, is rapidly expanding the pool of eligible female lawyers who will eventually be available for selection to the highest judicial positions, she said. | Improvements made by the Crime and Courts Act, which already permits part-time working and job-sharing for judges, is rapidly expanding the pool of eligible female lawyers who will eventually be available for selection to the highest judicial positions, she said. |
| A third of the eligible candidates in competitions for high court judges are already women. There will come a time – fairly soon, she believes – when we reach a tipping point, when the supreme court and appeal court will suddenly begin to fill up with female judges. | A third of the eligible candidates in competitions for high court judges are already women. There will come a time – fairly soon, she believes – when we reach a tipping point, when the supreme court and appeal court will suddenly begin to fill up with female judges. |
| “Beverly McLachlin, the chief justice of Canada, became the third woman on that country’s nine-person supreme court,” Marks explains. “By the time there were four women and five men on the court [the current balance], the issue of gender had gone away.” | “Beverly McLachlin, the chief justice of Canada, became the third woman on that country’s nine-person supreme court,” Marks explains. “By the time there were four women and five men on the court [the current balance], the issue of gender had gone away.” |
| A few, judiciously chosen appointments in the next round of selections to the UK’s supreme court could change public perceptions rapidly. |