Gender Diversity Soars in the Judicial System

Women comprise almost 50 percent of law school graduates. The growing numbers of women entering the legal profession are being reflected in all areas of the legal profession. Notably, the number of women serving as judges has grown recently. The South is setting the trend. Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and South Carolina are among the Southern states helping to decrease the gap between men and women in the judiciary. Twenty states across the nation now have women serving as chief justices, more than any time in the history of the United States.
Unfortunately, this has not always been the case. In 1990, the state of Florida released a report which demonstrated that women were victims of discrimination in the legal profession. Georgia even created a gender bias task force to help deal with the problem. Other states followed suit and it led to changes in rules of court, statutes and common practices that led to reform. Even with those changes, women have to work harder to overcome public bias. The public wants to know women can be tough. Also, the people want judges who are thoughtful and who listen. The increasing number of women on the bench is evidence that women are breaking down these gender barriers. Diversity on the bench is important to the judicial system. "...A judge's life experience can serve as a lens to magnify what others cannot see," Florida Chief Justice Peggy A. Quince.