Bid to recruit more women judges

The Judiciary of England and Wales has launched a drive to attract more women and ethnic minorities to become judges, as it seeks to change the perception of judges as “pale and male”.

The Judiciary is holding recruitment road shows across the UK and offering a work shadowing scheme for solicitors and barristers.

Among those backing the campaign is tribunal judge Sian Davies, a partner at Capital Law in Cardiff who was encouraged by her firm to apply for the part-time position.

Mrs Davies, 40, who specialises in employment law, sits at the Bristol Employment Tribunal for 30 days a year.

She was appointed in November 2010 after a year-long recruitment process involving interviews, exams and role plays.

She said: “The old process used to be a tap on the shoulder if you were in the old boys’ club. But now they are trying to open it up to people who are not old white men.”

Figures from the judicial database show that 20% of judges are women in the UK. But the figure is much lower in Wales, with only two women sitting as circuit judges, two as district judges and only one female district judge for magistrates’ courts.

Only two women serve as circuit judges in Wales, compared to 30 men, while just two have been appointed as district judges, against 23 males.

Tribunal courts seem to attract more women judges, with around 37% female judicial office-holders sitting at tribunals across the UK.

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