The Inns of Court Alliance for Women

I am delighted to be here at the Inns of Court Alliance for Women Garden Party – we have brought the sun out! Looking out reminds me of summer 1988 when Ingrid Simler and I performed as Hermia and Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream under the beautiful tree down there.

It is very good to be able to get together in person and, amongst other things, to have a visual reminder of the progress that has been made for women in the Bar. This initiative has come a long way since Professor Dawn Oliver, as Treasurer of Middle Temple, had the original idea in 2011. The Temple Women’s Forum was set up in 2012/13. Then, in December 2021, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Ivy Williams’s Call to the Bar, the forum became a four Inn entity – the Alliance.

I have spent a lot of time over the last year talking about the importance of visible representation. Simone de Beauvoir, in her 1949 book ‘The Second Sex’, wrote: “Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with the absolute truth.” This quote captures how failing to include the perspective of women is a huge driver of an unintended male bias that attempts (often in good faith) to pass itself off as gender neutral. It is only once women come into positions of power or authority that these assumptions can actually be challenged – what a ‘Judge’ or ‘Barrister’ should look like, should sound like, or should be like. I know that many of these assumptions are being challenged right here today – both by the presence of the people around me and in the conversations had.

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It is only when women are part of discussions in law that the unintended consequences of these gender biases can be identified, addressed and amended. One can see the practical impact of this in small changes: it was only as recently as the 1990s that women were allowed to wear trousers in courts in England and Wales. Of course, the focus on what women wear remains a point of debate; reading a press report on my first ever press conference as Lady Chief Justice, I was amused to be described as “striding into the room in a pair of three-inch stilettos”! The reason was not style or vanity – in fact, my trousers were simply too long.

Events like today serve to show just how far we have come in improving representation at the Bar. Having the first ever Lady Chief Justice is a step along that path. I remember the Attorney General jiggling for joy at this event in Lincoln’s Inn last year when the announcement had just been made.

I knew when I took this role that it came with great responsibility and that people would be looking to me as a figurehead – I hoped to do a good job in the face of much scrutiny. Fortunately, I was able to receive swift feedback on my efforts when, two weeks into the job, I received an email from HR, which read thus:

“Dear Lady Chief Justice, We have been notified that your employment has been terminated. Your email account will shortly be closed. Please return your computer and work telephone to the IT department by 4pm on Friday.”

And there I was thinking that the first week had gone well.

Imposter syndrome is my least favourite phrase in the English language. However, I know that it is a feeling that many women at the Bar do experience. Please, don’t. If you have been given a role or a brief, it is because you have deserved it – earned it. Self-insight is an important and useful tool. But self-doubt is not. Back yourself. Maybe talk to a female colleague about it.

As with many other challenges, a problem shared is a problem halved. Throughout my career, I have found that the ability to speak to other women about their experiences – both their successes and the challenges faced – have been invaluable in providing guidance as I have forged my own path. Within the judiciary, there is a lot of support for women and for increasing diversity – reverse mentoring, judicial mentoring, pre-application judicial education programme and targeted outreach.

It is so important to have networks of people on whom you can rely, and with whom you can compare notes and share experiences faced. It is for this reason that I am so pleased to be here today – events such as this are crucial in forging connections, particularly at the Bar today, where working from home has become ever more common. Although, of course, working from home brings many benefits in terms of flexibility and accessibility, particularly for those with caring responsibilities, it does come at the cost of moments of camaraderie and casual conversations in corridors which can be so vital, not only for those at the junior end.

So, I hope that you enjoy today’s event and take this opportunity to talk to those around you – who knows what may come of it.

For details of Inns of Court Alliance for Women events:
innertemple.org.uk/icaw

The Rt Hon The Baroness Sue Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill
The Lady Chief Justice of England & Wales