Addressing Gender Disparities in the Judiciary

Context

The injustice of gender disparity in India’s higher judiciary has become an age-old issue, despite both much development and increased participation in the legal profession by women. 

Current Status of Women in the Judiciary

Women have made substantial progress in the legal field since Cornelia Sorabji became the first woman lawyer in India in 1924. Today, women constitute a growing number of lawyers and judges, but their representation in the higher judiciary remains disappointingly low.

• High Courts: Women constitute a mere 14.27 percent of judges, out of which just 109 are women out of 764 judges. State High Courts, such as Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Tripura, etc., do not have a single judge woman. 
• Supreme Court: Currently, the Supreme Court comprises only two women judges, Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Bela Trivedi, and then there will be just one woman remaining when Justice Bela Trivedi retires in June 2025. There hasn’t been placement of any women judges in the Supreme Court since 2021.

Challenges Faced by Women in the Higher Judiciary

Several structural, institutional, and socio-cultural barriers contribute to the low representation of women in the higher judiciary.

• Systemic Gender Bias and Stereotypes: Women often face deep-rooted biases within the legal profession, being perceived as less capable of handling complex legal matters or leadership roles. This stereotype requires women to work harder to prove their competence compared to their male counterparts.
• Opaque Collegium System: The selection process by collegium system is not transparent, and does not favor gender diversity. This opaqueness becomes an obstacle for the appointment of women judges as clear criteria to be followed for eligibility and merit do not exist. 
• Very limited number of senior women advocates: Since very few women reach the level of Senior Advocate, this decreases the number of potential candidates for entry to the higher judiciary. In its entire history, only Justice Indu Malhotra has been elevated from the Bar directly to the Supreme Court. 
• Delay in Age: Women are appointed later than the male counterparts at an average appointment age of 53 years as compared to 51.8 years for men. This limits the tenure and chances of becoming Chief Justices. 
• Selective Confirmation by Government: Names of women recommended by the collegium are likely to be delayed or rejected by the government. Since 2020, nine women were recommended to fill appointments to the High Court, but five of these names were rejected.

Steps to Improve Gender Equality in the Judiciary

Some of the reforms that can be undertaken to reduce gender imbalance in the higher judiciary include the following:

• Establish Clear Processes: Clear and transparent processes are quite important for judicial appointments. This should also entail clearly defined criteria for eligibility and merit with the selection being based on qualifications and integrity.
• Commit to Gender Diversity: Such an arrangement would ensure that a minimum of one-third of judges in the higher judiciary are women, thus DH performing legitimacy and public trust in the higher courts.
• Counter Cultures of Systemic Bias: One of the major steps in countering profound biases against women in law is internalizing the process for appointment of women judges, without special scrutiny, thus ensuring that women are not subjected to tougher standards than men.
• Increase Government Accountability: It makes the government accountable for denying women recommended by the collegium as part of the solution to the problem of selective confirmations. As of 2020, nine names of women were recommended but none confirmed; of these, five were the only names rejected.

Conclusion

The gender gap closure in higher judiciary is necessary for the perspective of constitutional values of equality, inclusion, and justice. The first step toward gender parity is the removal of systemic discrimination, transparent appointment processes, and a balanced representation policy. By normalizing women’s appointments and providing equal opportunities, India will move toward a more representative and inclusive judiciary. 

Source: The Hindu

UPSC Mains Practice Question 

Q. Despite constitutional principles of equality, women remain underrepresented in India’s higher judiciary. Examine the structural, institutional, and socio-cultural barriers responsible for this gender gap and suggest comprehensive reforms to ensure greater judicial diversity. (15 Marks, 250 Words)

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