Legal History In The Making: Supreme Court To Sit With Female Majority
Grow Talk by Sofy Robertson
Tomorrow, legal history will be made with the first case in the Supreme Court to be heard by a female majority.
This news of female empowerment in the professional world could not have come at a more opportune moment. It is hard not to feel the toxic effects of the Kavanaugh court battle from across the pond. The alleged female victims are roasted daily in the media,almost on equal par with President Trump and Brett Kavanaugh; thousands are taking to Twitter and other social media platforms to condemn both the alleged victims and the alleged abuser. It is a case that is fast becoming a battle of the sexes and at once has give women and victims of the #MeToo movement a voice at the caveat of an audition; they must play the part of a victim in order to be believed.
It comes as a relief, therefore, to report on a positive movement regarding equality of the sexes on British soil. Tomorrow, legal history will be made as the UK’s high court will sit with a majority of female justices for the first time.
Let’s not forget that Justice, after all, was a lady. Despite this, it is only relatively recently that women were allowed to practice as barristers. The law was passed ninety-six years ago, to be precise, with Ivy Williams becoming the pioneer of female barristers.
The swearing-in of Lady Arden yesterday has made this groundbreaking event possible. She will sit alongside Lady Hale, the court’s president, and Lady Black. They will outnumber their male counterparts, Lords Carnwath and Lloyd-Jones for the first time in British History.
Lady Hale, the court’s first female president, has become a pioneer for women in the justice system. She has previously spoken out about the need for more women at the top of the judiciary.
Founder of the First 100 years, a project highlighting women’s achievements in the legal sector, Dana Denis-Smith said:
“She’s really making a difference. You have a woman that takes other women with her. That’s the wonderful legacy of Baroness Hale. It’s a really wonderful thing to see and an example for other women in a leadership position, that they can effect change.” (Telegraph)
Lady Hale has been hailed as the ‘Beyoncé of the legal profession’ by the media, and it turns out that this is a title that she doesn’t object to. On a visit to Cambridge University where she read for her degree, a student asked her about her Beyoncé likeness. Lady Hale acknowledged her awareness of the informal title and said that she didn’t mind the comparison, reports Legal Cheek.
Lady Hale is no stranger to situations of gender inequality; in her time at Cambridge there were nine times as many places for boys as girls. Fifteen years before she enrolled, women were not awarded degrees. Instead they gained the title BA (Tit). Yes really, that isn’t a joke.
We at Grow wish the team of justices the best of luck in their upcoming trial tomorrow that will bring Britain a step further from the dark ages of BA (Tit). We hope it may have an effect on our friends across the pond too…
