A gender imbalance at the highest levels of South Australia’s legal profession will be targeted by new moves to enable more women to become barristers and judges, according to an ABC report.
The report says the Courts Administration Authority (CAA) is in the process of creating a position that will make it easier for female lawyers to be admitted to the Bar.
There are currently 14 judge’s associate positions in the South Australian Supreme Court. The roles are often sought by law graduates.
The new associate role, available exclusively to practising female solicitors, will help women gain the experience needed to be considered for acceptance to the Bar.
South Australia’s Chief Justice Chris Kourakis said he hoped a larger pool of female barristers would lead to more women becoming judges in the future.
“You really have to tailor individual measures and solutions to the environment that you’re tackling,” Justice Kourakis told 891 ABC Adelaide.
“More than 50 per cent of legal practitioners generally are women but only 25 per cent of barristers are women.”
Justice Kourakis said it was unacceptable that women continue to be underrepresented in senior ranks within the legal profession.
“For several decades now, an equal number of women have graduated from our law schools as men. So we can’t any longer say it’ll just happen with time,” he said.
“We have to take special measures.
“This is an additional special position for women who’ve been in practice for several years. It will be rotated every year to 18 months.”
The CAA has submitted an application to the Equal Opportunities Tribunal seeking permission to only advertise the position to female candidates.
“It’s startling that we have to, in effect, acknowledge that we’ve got this problem to request permission for a special measure,” Justice Kourakis said.
“The acknowledgement is as important as the position we’re creating.”