The 2016 judicial diversity statistics were published on 28 July 2016 showing the figures for April 2016.
The statistics show that in April 2016:
- The number of woman Court of Appeal Judges remains the same as last year at eight out of 39 (21 per cent).
- Twenty two out of 106 High Court Judges are women (21 per cent). In April 2015 the number was 21 (20 per cent).
- In the courts the percentage of female judges has increased from April 2015 to April 2016 from 25% to 28%. In tribunals it remained stable at 45%.
- The number of female Circuit Judges increased from 146 in April 2015 to 160 in April 2016 (from 23 per cent to 26 per cent)
- More than half (51 per cent) of the 85 courts judges under 40 years of age are women (53% last year). In tribunals, 64 per cent of the 56 judges under 40 are women (56% last year)
- The percentage of judges who identify as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic is 5% in courts (6% last year), and in tribunals 9% (stable since 2015). This is higher for judges under 40 – 8% (6% last year) for courts and 14% (15% last year) for tribunals
- A third (34%, compared with 36% in 2015) of court judges and two thirds (65%, compared with 67% in 2015) of tribunal judges are from non-barrister backgrounds, This varies by jurisdiction for both courts and tribunals, with judges in lower courts more likely to come from a non-barrister background.
First Progress Report – Judicial Diversity Committee of the Judges’ Council