AWL Research
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Senior Counsel and Judicial Officer Appointments
Research conducted by AWL (in 2012) to explore the advancement of women at the independent bar 50 years since the appointment of Dame Roma Mitchell, as the nation’s first female Queen’s Counsel, showed that despite the exponential increase of women practising law only 121 women in Australia had been appointed silk in the last 50 years.
This lack of advancement was reflected in follow up research conducted by AWL (in 2013) relating to female judicial appointments which showed that only 33.53{6c0a4e1ac7e55840cfe639ecf4b11dafaf03aa04ee92fd19e6f871f32a3a63fe} of judicial officers in Australia were women and that some jurisdictions had only appointed 3 female Supreme Court judges out of 20 positions.
It is unacceptable to AWL that these figures exist despite women constituting more than 60{6c0a4e1ac7e55840cfe639ecf4b11dafaf03aa04ee92fd19e6f871f32a3a63fe} of all law graduates since 2001, more female than male solicitors being admitted to practice in the last 12 years and female solicitors out numbering male solicitors for the first 10 years of practise.
Media
The Australian Financial Review – Few Women in Silk –
7 September 2012
Findings
Senior Counsel
- Only 9.3 of women practised at the independent bar as senior counsel (64/808 people)
- Less than 10 of silks currently practising in Australia were female
- Only 81 Senior Counsel practising in Australia were female
Senior Counsel Appointments 2012
| State | Number of Women Appointed | Total Number of Appointments |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | 12 | 26 |
| Vic | 3 | 20 |
| Qld | 1 | 3 |
| SA | 1 | 5 |
| WA | 0 | 2 |
| Tas | 0 | 1 |
| NT | 0 | 1 |
| ACT | 0 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 17 | 59 |
Female SC Appointments in NSW
2010 – 4 out of 20 appointments
2011 – 2 out of 24 appointments
2012 – 12 out of 26 appointments
Female SC Appointments in Victoria
2010 – 3 out of 15 appointments
2011 – 2 out of 15 appointments
2012 – 3 out of 20 appointments
Practising Female Senior Counsel in Australia 2012
| State | Number of Practising Female Senior Counsel | PercentagE of all Practising Senior Counsel at the Independent Bar |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | 34 | 9.4% (363 in total) |
| Vic | 26 | 0.1% (258 in total) |
| Qld | 6 | 4.6% (129 in total) |
| SA | 8 | 20.5% (39 in total) |
| WA | 2 | 6.4% (31 in total) |
| Tas | 1 | 7.1% (14 in total) |
| NT | 3 | 30% (10 in total) |
| ACT | 1 | 4.3% (23 in total) |
| TOTAL | 81 | 9.3% (867 in total) |
Judicial Officers (2012)
33.53% of judicial positions in Australia were occupied by women ( 340 out of 1014 people)
Some jurisdictions had only appointed 3 female Supreme Court judges out of 20 positions.
Total number of presiding female judges in Australia 2013
| TOTAL no. | WOMEN | % WOMEN | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All jurisdictions 2013 | 1014 | 340 | 33.53% |
| All jurisdictions 1995 | 810 | 71 | 8.77% |
