Report

Breaking through the Old Boys’ Club - The Rise of Women in the Lower Judiciary

Breaking through the Old Boys’ Club - The Rise of Women in the Lower Judiciary

Report content

While there is some empirical work on the state of gender diversity in the higher judiciary in India, academic work on this topic in the context of the lower judiciary is sparse. A data-driven analysis of the trends of women’s entry into the lower judiciary between 2007 and 2017, across multiple states at two levels (civil judge [junior division] and district judge [direct recruitment from the bar]), points to a direct relationship between methods of recruitment and women’s representation in the judiciary. At the same time, this data helps identify barriers that frustrate the goal of improved gender representation.

Report document

Breaking-through-the-Old-Boys-Club-_-The-Rise-of-Women-in-the-Lower-Judiciary-_-Economic-and-Political-Weekly (1).pdf

Authors

Sumathi Chandrashekaran

Sumathi  Chandrashekaran

Sumathi Chandrashekaran was a lawyer working in the field of public policy. She previously worked at Vidhi as a Senior Research Fellow and led work under Judicial Reforms. Sumathi has completed her LLB from Delhi University, and a post-graduate course in public policy from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

Diksha Sanyal

Diksha  Sanyal

Former Senior Resident Fellow

Diksha was a Research Fellow at Vidhi.

Tarika Jain

Tarika  Jain

Former Senior Resident Fellow

Tarika was a Senior Resident Fellow with the Health Team at Vidhi. She has also previously worked with the JALDI initiative and the Climate & Ecosystems Team, where she researched on efficiency, accountability and transparency in the judiciary with an empirical lens. She has written for leading journals and newspapers like Economic and Political Weekly, the Economic Times and the Indian Express. Tarika graduated from Gujarat National Law University with B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) in 2017 and has completed her postgraduate studies in Public Policy from University College London in 2021. She enjoys anime and rock music.

Shreya Tripathy

Shreya  Tripathy

Senior Resident Fellow

Since 2018, I have worked in JALDI on topics such as judicial diversity, infrastructure and efficient budgeting for the judiciary. I have also undertaken several data-driven projects intending to understand the systemic problems of the judiciary at all levels and provide targeted solutions. I have publications in the Economic and Political Weekly and other law & policy review journals. I have also published in the Outlook and platforms such as Hindustan Times and The Print. My areas of interest include Human Rights & Judicial Reforms. I graduated with B.B.A.LL.B. from National Law University, Odisha in 2018. Before joining Vidhi, I interned in organizations like Nyaaya, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre and Partners for Law in Development. My dream for the Indian judiciary is that it becomes more inclusive and accessible for all. The general narrative when it comes to accessibility and the judiciary tends to shift towards litigants who may be Persons with Disabilities. It is high time that the judiciary starts changing this narrative and starts considering accessibility for all and at all levels including judicial officers and staff. I am an enthusiastic collector of cookbooks and love trying out recipes from around the world.

Institution

District judiciary

Tags

Inclusivity

Judicial Data

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