The Road to Gender Equity in Judiciary
GS Paper II – Governance & Social Justice: Judiciary, Women’s Issues.
CONTEXT: Despite incremental progress, the Indian judiciary remains a domain with significant gender disparity, especially in the higher echelons, highlighting the long road to achieving gender equity.
Key Data Points & Pre-Pointers:
- Supreme Court (SC): Only 11 women judges have been appointed in the SC’s 74-year history. As of late 2024, only 2 out of 34 judges (~6%) are women.
- High Courts (HCs): Women constitute only about 13.3% of all judges (113 out of 850 judges) across the 25 HCs. 5 HCs have no woman judge at all.
- Subordinate Judiciary: Representation is better at around 31%, but this pipeline leaks significantly before reaching the HCs and SC.
- Global Comparison: Countries like the USA (34%), UK (35%), and Canada (44%) have significantly higher representation of women in their apex courts.
Significance of Gender Equity in Judiciary
- Diverse Perspectives: Ensures more holistic and empathetic interpretation of laws, especially in cases involving sexual violence, dowry, and matrimonial disputes.
- Legitimacy and Trust: A judiciary that reflects the society it serves enhances public confidence in the justice delivery system.
- Role Modelling: Women judges serve as powerful role models, inspiring more women to enter and persist in the legal profession.
Hurdles & The Way Forward
- Structural Barriers: Unconscious bias in collegium deliberations, a lack of transparent criteria, and the “old boys’ club” network.
- Societal Factors: Deep-rooted patriarchy and the “double burden” of professional and familial responsibilities.
- The Way Forward:
- Formal Policy for Diversity: The collegium must institutionalize a transparent and equitable appointment policy.
- Strengthen the Pipeline: Address attrition by providing robust infrastructural support (creches, flexible hours) and strict enforcement of the POSH Act in court premises.
- All India Judicial Service (AIJS): If implemented with diversity quotas, it could be a potential game-changer.
