Progress on judicial diversity is ‘too slow’

The Ministry of Justice has published the annual ‘Diversity of the judiciary: 2025 statistics’. The report finds that since 2015, the number of judges from different ethnic minority backgrounds has increased from 7% to 12%, but the number of Black judges has remained at 1% of all judges.

Responding to the publication, Barbara Mills KC, Chair of 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.

“The representation of Black judges has remained at 1% across the judiciary for a decade with only gradual increases of people from other minority ethnic backgrounds. 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.”

This week the UK Association of Black Judges (UKABJ) was launched and Barbara Mills KC attended to speak about her experience and offer her support to the association as Chair of the Bar and as a deputy high court judge.

She said: “The launch of this association, and the attendance and presence of voices from across the legal profession, including Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales Baroness Carr, 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.”

This year’s report also expanded its data collection on disability, and for the first time, the Judicial Diversity Forum introduced data on social mobility, measured by type of school attended.

Barbara Mills KC added: “We know that there are many people across the legal profession working to have a positive impact on our judicial system and the individuals within it. We are pleased that the report has also started to monitor social mobility. Initiatives such as the pre-application judicial education programme, SBA and circuit judicial outreach initiatives and our judicial appointments mentoring programme continue to offer support and insight, but the statistics suggest much more needs to be done.”