Litigation

Judicial Gender Diversity Gains High in South

By Peter Hardin

Across the country, 20 women now are serving as chief justices of state Supreme Courts, more than ever before in U.S. history.

And the trend appears prevalent in the South, where women serve as chief justice in eight of 13 states, more than in any other region, according to an article in ABA Journal. It is entitled, “Tipping the scales: In the South, women have made huge strides in the state judiciaries.”

“I ask people if they know how many women chief justices there are, and they answer two or three,” Alabama Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb (photo at right) told the magazine, the Birmingham News reported. “When I tell them, they are shocked. But it really blows them away when I tell them how many there are of us in the South.”

In addition, four Southern states count women on their state courts who comprise as high, or higher percentages, than females on state courts in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan and New Jersey, which generally are viewed as more progressive in pushing diversity or more liberal.

To learn about the importance of diversity on the bench, read Justice at Stake’s issues page on the topic.

Full post as published by The Gavel on August 11, 2010 (boomark / email).