Are we there yet? An international judicial snapshot on International Women’s Day.
In June 2022, the Judicial Gender Statistics published annually by the Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration (AIJA) reported that women constituted 43.1% of judges and magistrates across all Australian jurisdictions (excluding tribunals). The October 2022 appointment of Justice Jayne Jagot to the High Court was an iconic turn in the momentum towards national parity with four women out of seven judges on the bench of the highest court in the land.
How does Australia rank against key common law jurisdictions?
A similar picture emerges across the ditch, with women constituting 43.5% of the New Zealand judiciary. In the Supreme Court of New Zealand, three of the six justices are women.
In the Supreme Court of Canada, four of nine justices are women. The September 2022 appointment of Justice Michelle O’Bonsawin, an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation, was historic for seeing the ascent of the first Indigenous woman to that nation’s superior court. Her appointment followed the 2021 nomination of Mahmud Jamal, the first person of colour to serve on the Supreme Court.
The United States also saw progress with the appointment of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first African-American woman to serve on the Supreme Court in June 2022, bringing the gender tally to four out of nine judges.
In the United Kingdom, the current constitution of the Supreme Court reflects how the path of cultural change is not linear. In August 2022, the highest court in the land returned to only one female judge of 12. In The Conversation, Stephen Clear reported that:
[A]mong the 12 justices who comprise the supreme court, there are now three times more white, Cambridge-educated men, with the forename David, than there are women.
Clear emphasises that judicial diversity is important in jurisdictions where judicial precedent is a primary source of law.
It should also be remembered that—given women constitute 50% of the population—the term ‘gender equality’ is used when talking about representation of men and women and ‘diversity’ when talking about challenging discriminatory practices on axes of race, ethnicity, sexuality and ableism.
Although gender is just one prism of contemporary experience, it remains a significant metric in many areas, including sexual assault, wage gaps, and advancing international human rights.
After the Taliban seized authority in Afghanistan in 2021, the Australian chapter of the International Association of Women Judges rescued 17 judges from potential rape, torture, murder and the desecration of all human rights. These Australian women judges continue to supply mentoring support, assistance and sustenance to their fellow Afghan professionals and their families.
On this International Women’s Day, we celebrate the heroes of the Australian judiciary whose fortitude and compassion continues to shine the way forward. While we might not yet have reached the elusive target of gender equality, we recognise those on the bench who work tirelessly to improve the lives of everyone.
Photo: Female staff members at the College supporting the delivery of judicial education. Credit: Mackenzie Charlton photography.