2.2.1 Magistrates

1919, the year the legal profession opened up to women, was also the year women could first become magistrates. Today, over half of magistrates are women (Magistrates Association, 2019).

Ethnic diversity has taken longer to achieve. It would be another four decades before a minority ethnic magistrate – black magistrate, Eric Irons – was appointed in 1962. By 2020, 16 per cent of magistrates were members of ethnic minorities (Ministry of Justice, 2020c).

Today’s magistrates are volunteers from a range of backgrounds. However, there are still concerns about their socio-economic diversity and age. In 2020, 82 per cent were aged over 50 (Ministry of Justice, 2020c).