By Sammie Jones-
Justice Secretary, Liz Truss, has called for an improvement in diversity in the legal profession.
Speaking at a Conservative conference, she pointed out that only one out of the 12 justices on the supreme court, is a woman and none is from a minority ethnic background. “This would be difficult to justify in any boardroom or around the cabinet table.” Her comments highlight the need for the judicial system to address a serious issue of what appears to be discrimination in the legal profession
Chantal-Aimée Doerries QC, chair of the Bar Council, told The UK Guardian “The lord chancellor’s decision to put diversity high on the agenda reflects [our] priorities. We all want to see greater career progression for women and BAME lawyers and judges. The bar and the judiciary need to reflect society at large.
“At the bar, we have a number of initiatives already under way, including several mentoring schemes. One of these is aimed at supporting women and ethnic minority barristers seeking to become QCs and members of the judiciary. We also recently launched a maternity mentoring scheme, open to fathers and mothers with children to help balance parenting with a flourishing career at the bar.”
The need for more diversity is central to the principles of fairness and equality at the heart of the justice system and needs to be addressed urgently. There are several women and people from minority groups who have the skills and qualification to be judges , but clearly, are not being given the opportunity. In an age where diversity and equality of opportunity are crucial, it seems a shame that one of the leading professions is yet to fully put this practice in place. The justice secretary notably did not implement any measures to address the problem, except to state the problem. The relatively small number of women and minorities in the judicial system on the face of it suggests that mainly white males have the credentials to be judges.
In as much as this is unlikely to be a true reflection of the availability of potential female and minority judges with the necessary tools to perform the duty of a judge well, action needs to be taken to rectify the identified shortage of diversity in the legal profession. The legal profession itself will need to take the initiative to change the makeup of the judiciary to reflect the principles of fairness it represents and put provide more opportunities for disadvantaged groups to work at the higher end of the legal chain.