Bar Council chair Barbara Mills KC has led calls for urgent action to address judicial diversity gaps following the release of the Ministry of Justice’s annual ‘Diversity of the judiciary’ report.
The report, which details current gender and ethnic representation in the judiciary, underscored persistent challenges around ethnic diversity.
Since 2015, the proportion of judges from different ethnic minority backgrounds has increased only marginally from 7% to 12%. Meanwhile, the proportion of ethnic minority barristers rose from 14% to 17%, solicitors from 15% to 19%, and chartered legal executives from 5% to 12%.
However, the appointment of Black judges has stagnated, with the proportion remaining unchanged at 1% of all judges since 2015 – a focal point for criticism by the Bar Council and the Law Society.
Mills, the first Black woman to lead the Bar Council, said: “Every year we are told that there is gradual progress being made towards a more diverse judiciary, but it’s far too slow for Black lawyers and this is no longer good enough.”
Mills added: “We want to see real progress and a commitment across the board to ensuring that there is support and investment so that our judiciary reflects the diverse communities we live in.
“We are concerned that candidates from a minority ethnic background, and in particular Black lawyers, are disproportionately ruled out at each step of the recruitment process. We are told that this data is not statistically relevant. We disagree. It is relevant and requires scrutiny.”
The UK Association of Black Judges (UKABJ) was launched last week, with Mills participating as a speaker in her dual capacity as chair of the Bar and a deputy High Court judge.
Mills said: “The launch of this association, and the attendance and presence of voices from across the legal profession, including the Lady Chief Justice, is a testament to our collective commitment to shaping a legal system that truly reflects the society it represents.
“To me, it is important that we as Black judges show up in a system that doesn’t always feel like it shows up for us, to ask hard questions and be part of a respectful, solutions-driven conversation.”
Richard Atkinson, the president of the Law Society, agreed: “Minority ethnic candidates are disproportionately ruled out at every stage of the appointments process. While there have been some positive changes relating to Asian and mixed-ethnicity candidates, no progress at all is being made about Black candidates.”
The report also highlighted persistent disparities at senior levels, with female judges holding only 28% of senior posts in the higher courts.
Meanwhile, the number of non-barrister judges declined over the last decade, with their representation decreasing from 48% to 40%. The proportion of solicitors and legal executives sitting as judges dropped from 36% to 31%.
During 2024/25, non-barristers accounted for 11% of new entrants and 36% of those leaving the judiciary. Representation is lowest in the senior posts (the High Court and the appellate courts), where just 5% (eight out of 151) have a non-barrister background. In the recent recruitment of six judges to the Court of Appeal, all were barristers and silks.
While solicitors (45%) made up more applicants than barristers (37%) in this year’s recruitment round, they made up just 24% of those recruited, compared with 48% for barristers.
Atkinson said: “Solicitors are continuing to achieve appointments as judges at disproportionately low rates compared with barristers and the numbers are falling,” adding that “until this percentage significantly increases, we will struggle to persuade our members that entry to the judiciary is a level playing field”.
This year’s report also collected data for the first time on disability and social mobility. Mills welcomed this, praising initiatives that offered support and insight, but added: “Much more needs to be done.”
Despite the broad diversity challenges impacting the legal profession, there were some positive takeaways in the report. For example, women now comprise 41% of barristers, 54% of solicitors, 78% of chartered legal executives and 44% of all judges. The figures reflect a consistent, albeit gradual, upward trend in female participation across the profession.
Gender parity is closer than before at the entry and progression levels: female candidates accounted for 49% of applications (2,259), 47% of those shortlisted (470), and 52% of recommendations for appointment (218). Furthermore, of the new entrants, 60% last year were female.
Female representation among all court judges has increased dramatically, from 25% in 2015 to 39% currently, mirroring an equivalent rise in tribunals from 44% to 54% over the same period. And while female judges held fewer senior posts in the higher courts, representation was stronger in the lower courts, with women accounting for 48% of appointments among district judges and deputy district judges.
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