Progress is not being made across the board, says Bankside Chambers' Bridgette White
Even though more women are joining the legal profession, lead counsel roles in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court continue to elude them, according to the Gender Ratio of Counsel Appearing in the Higher Courts report for December 2024 released by the New Zealand Bar Association | Ngā Ahorangi Motuhake o Te Ture.
Over the past four years, women made up just 30% of lead counsel appearing before the Court of Appeal; in the Supreme Court, just 26% were women.
“While significant progress has being made with, for example, a greater proportion of the senior judiciary being female, the Chief Justice, President of the Court of Appeal and the head of the High Court are all women, that progress is not occurring across the board”, Bankside Chambers’ Bridgette White told NZ Lawyer.
In 2023, women comprised 55% of the profession, up significantly from 45% in 2012. Moreover, gender equality initiatives have been implemented in recent years. However, these statistics further highlight the lack of women heading up cases in the higher courts, the Bar Association said.
White noted that the report’s findings aligned with 2023 statistics from the New Zealand Law Society, which indicated that just 34% of equity partners were women.
“Undoubtedly, women can make excellent lawyers. However, these statistics show that they are not getting the opportunities they need to rise to the top. I do not believe that the issue is conscious bias. However, women are still being impacted by a significant degree of unconscious bias”, she told NZ Lawyer.
She pointed to the perception that working mothers were “less available”, even though this wasn’t the assumption for working fathers.
“Unconscious bias can also be a significant issue for female advocates, a position that requires strength and leadership. Socially accepted female qualities are nurturing and compassionate. These qualities are often perceived to be at odds what is traditionally perceived to be required of a strong advocate”, White told NZ Lawyer.
She challenged such a view as “outdated and wrong”, noting that “some of the most powerful and effective advocacy I have witnessed has been from women”.
“However, they walk a tightrope. If they show too much assertion and control, they are perceived as unlikable and then also suffer prejudice”, White said.
She added that the Bar Association’s Equitable Briefing Policy, which was implemented in 2017 and for which many major firms signed up, was “not working as had been hoped”.
“The Equitable Briefing Policy absolutely has the right idea in mind – just consider women!” White said. “Perhaps it needs better monitoring and compliance with it reported. In any event, we need to do more”.
The policy required practitioners to do the following:
“Ultimately, we all (men and women) need to challenge our assumptions when handing out opportunities to ensure that those decisions are not limited by conscious or unconscious bias”, White told NZ Lawyer. “This is especially important for those who, in essence, act as the gatekeepers for those opportunities, be it other barristers or law firms looking to brief counsel on a complex matter”.
Nura Taefi KC and Kelly Quinn KC of the Bar Association’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee prepared the NZBA Gender Ratio of Counsel Appearing in the Higher Courts report for December 2024. The data were obtained from the 2012-2023 period.
