02 November 2022
It will take more than 120 years for women, Black and Asian people to be proportionately represented within the judiciary if the current rate of progress continues.
Statistical analysis by the Law Society found it would take until 2149 for the proportion of the judiciary who are Black (currently 1.09%, compared to 1.02% in 2014) to reach parity with the general population (3.5%).
Asian judges would reach demographic parity (8%) by 2033, currently making up 4.79% of the judiciary, a rise of 2.53% since 2014.
Women currently make up one third of the judiciary, but this will increase to half in about ten years.
Law Society president Lubna Shuja said: ‘We owe it to the public—who often use the judicial system at times of great stress—to at least have judges who represent and can relate to them.’
