2015 statistics on Judicial Diversity published

• Eight out of 38 Court of Appeal judges are women (21 per cent). In April 2014 the number was seven (18 per cent).
• The number of High Court judges who are women remains at 21 out of 106, now 108 (19 per cent).
• The number of female Circuit Judges increased from 131 in April 2014 to 146 in April 2015 (ie from 20 per cent to 23 per cent).
• More than half (53 per cent) of the 60 courts judges under 40 years of age are women. In tribunals, 56 per cent of the 89 judges under 40 are women.
• The overall percentage of female judges has increased in both the Courts and Tribunals from April 2014 to April 2015 from 24.5% to 25.2% in the Courts and 43.0% to 43.8% in the Tribunals.
• The percentage of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) judges across Courts and Tribunals is unchanged at 7 per cent.
• 12 per cent of judges across Courts and Tribunals under 50 years of age are from a BME background.
• 36 per cent of Courts judges were not barristers by professional background (down from 37 per cent). In Tribunals the figure is 67 per cent (down less than one per cent).
• For the first time the statistics this year include a breakdown by age and region for both Courts and Tribunals Judiciary.

'Diversity is important to all of us and to the judiciary in particular. It is not just a guarantor of public confidence in justice, it is also a feature of justice itself because it represents both fairness and equality of opportunity. 

The Judicial Appointments Commission selects candidates for judicial roles on merit irrespective of background, but there is a real need to ensure that there is a level playing field and everyone has a genuine opportunity when applying for judicial appointment.'