2021 Gender statistics of Judges in Ghana indicates a marginal increase in female representation
In 2020, there were 45 female Justices of the High Court but this year, the number has moved to 53. On the part of male Justices, the number stood at 63 in 2020 while the number for this year is 64.
There has been a marginal increase in the number of female Justices in the Superior Courts of Ghana in 2021. This is according to data from the Judicial Service of Ghana and a confirmation from the Regional Bar Associations.
However, a further dig with respect to the specific Courts will reveal that Ghana still has a wider gender gap relative to the number of Judges in the entire Country.
Whereas this gap is someway closing marginally at the Superior Courts, the Lower Courts do not present a clear picture.
SUPREME COURT
There are 5 female Justices currently at the Supreme Court. Last year, there were 4 female Justices. This shows a marginal increase in the number for this year. Also, there are 9 male Justices in the apex Court compared to 10 last year.
One may however not be wrong to say that the death of Justice Marful-Sau, which is fresh in our minds, has contributed to this drop.
Additionally, the retirement of Appau JSC has further reduced the number of males.
COURT OF APPEAL
Furthermore, there are 15 female Justices at the Court of Appeal compared to last year’s 11. Also, last year, there were 20 male Justices but this year shows a drop to 18. There is still an improvement relative to the number of female justices.
HIGH COURT
In 2020, there were 45 female Justices of the High Court but this year, the number has moved to 53. On the part of male Justices, the number stood at 63 in 2020 while the number for this year is 64.
The story at the Lower Courts is not too different from the above.
At the Circuit Court of Ghana, there are currently 37 female Judges while 40 are males. In 2020, the number of female judges stood at 25 while those of males were 38. This shows an improvement in the number of females while a drop in the male judges.
Also, the District Courts in Ghana present the same gender distribution gap. However, a breakdown of the data shows a slightly different dynamic from the ones illustrated above. There are currently 57 and 99 female and male judges respectively. However, in 2020, the number of female judges stood at 59 while the number of males was the same as this year.
According to Judge Vanessa Ruiz, a Senior Judge for the Court of Appeals in the US, women judges bring lived experiences to their judicial actions, experiences that tend toward a more comprehensive and empathetic perspective.
Therefore we can only hope that this trend which presents a marginal appreciation in the number of female Justices and Judges continues next year or widely increase to close the gender gap among the Bench in Ghana.
