{"id":38871,"date":"2025-03-10T19:11:37","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T13:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=38871"},"modified":"2025-03-10T19:11:38","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T13:41:38","slug":"gender-gap-in-higher-judiciary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-03-2025\/gender-gap-in-higher-judiciary","title":{"rendered":"Gender Gap in the Higher Judiciary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Social Issues; Issues Related To Women<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Despite significant progress in women&#8217;s representation in various fields, the judiciary continues to lag behind, reflecting broader societal inequalities and systemic barriers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Current State of Gender Representation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As per <strong>\u201cState of the Judiciary\u201d report (2023)<\/strong>, women account for <strong>only about 14% of judges in High Courts<\/strong>, and about <strong>9.3% in the Supreme Court of India (only 4 out of 34 Supreme Court judges are women).<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is even more pronounced in certain states, where some High Courts have either no women judges or just one.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is <strong>uneven across High Courts<\/strong>, with States which include Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha, Tripura and Uttarakhand <strong>having either no women judges or just one woman judge.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Global Perspective &amp; Trends on Women in Judiciary<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Overall Representation:<\/strong> On average, women make up just over 25% of the world\u2019s judicial officers.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, this figure varies widely by region and country. In some areas, women constitute less than 10% of the judiciary.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Progress in OECD Countries:<\/strong> In many OECD countries, women make up more than 54% of professional judges.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is partly due to the growing number of women entering the legal profession and judiciary over recent decades.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Global Gender Gap Report of World Economic Forum (WEF)<\/strong> highlighted the countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada have made progress in promoting female judges, but <strong>gaps persist, particularly at the highest levels.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why Gender Diversity in the Judiciary Matters?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Ensuring Diversity of Thought:<\/strong> Women judges bring diverse perspectives that enrich judicial decision-making.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Promoting Gender-Sensitive Judgments:<\/strong> Cases related to sexual violence, workplace harassment, and family law benefit from having more women on the bench.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enhancing Public Trust in the Judiciary:<\/strong> Greater representation fosters confidence in the judicial system among female litigants.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Factors Contributing to the Gender Gap in Higher Judiciary<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Collegium System and Bias: <\/strong>The judicial appointment process in India follows a collegium system, which tends to favor candidates from specific social and professional circles, often male-dominated.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Women judges, despite having the required credentials, are overlooked due to <strong>implicit biases and lack of institutional support.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>\u00a0Systemic Inequality: <\/strong>While many women enter the legal profession, fewer advance to positions of authority <strong>due to workplace discrimination, lack of mentorship, and biases in career progression.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The challenges are <strong>compounded by societal expectations<\/strong> that place the burden of family responsibilities disproportionately on women.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lack of Structural Support: <\/strong>The absence of gender-friendly policies such as flexible work hours, and safety measures makes it difficult for women to sustain long legal careers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Limited Role Models and Representation:<\/strong> With fewer women in higher judicial positions, younger female lawyers lack role models, making it difficult for them to envision and pursue a path toward elevation to High Courts and the Supreme Court.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Recommendations for Bridging the Gender Gap<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Judicial Appointment Reforms:<\/strong> The <strong>collegium system<\/strong> should adopt gender-sensitive policies to ensure that women judges receive fair consideration for appointments.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>High Courts should actively recommend more women candidates for elevation to the Supreme Court.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mentorship and Leadership Development:<\/strong> Female legal professionals should be provided with mentorship programs to help them navigate judicial careers.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Senior judges should take the lead in advocating for institutional gender parity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Workplace Policy Changes:<\/strong> Family-friendly workplace policies, such as flexible working hours and better maternity leave provisions, should be introduced.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Gender-sensitization training should be conducted for judicial officers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Encouraging Women in Litigation:<\/strong> More women need to be encouraged to take up litigation, which is a primary pathway to judicial elevation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The government can introduce incentives and fellowships for female advocates pursuing higher judicial positions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Role of the Supreme Court and High Courts: <\/strong>The Chief Justice of India (CJI) and High Court Chief Justices must take proactive measures to ensure gender inclusivity.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The judiciary should set diversity benchmarks and track progress.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The gender gap in the higher judiciary is a reflection of broader societal inequalities that require concerted efforts to address.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>By prioritizing transparency, mentorship, and policy reforms, India can work towards a judiciary that is not only more representative but also more just.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bridging this gap is essential for upholding the principles of equality and fairness enshrined in the Constitution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/closing-the-gender-gap-in-the-higher-judiciary\/article69310095.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite significant progress in women&#8217;s representation in various fields, the judiciary continues to lag behind, reflecting broader societal inequalities and systemic barriers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38871"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38871\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38872,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38871\/revisions\/38872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}