Data show steady increase over the last 17 years in the number of women, and justices and judges of color.
- For the 17th straight year, California’s judicial bench has grown more diverse, according to new data released by the Judicial Council.
- As of December 31, 2022, responding female judicial officers constitute 39.9% of judicial officers across all court levels, a 1 percentage point increase over the prior year and an increase of more than 12 percentage points since 2006—the first year that data were collected for this purpose.
- The bench also has continued to become more racially and ethnically diverse. The proportion of responding white judicial officers has declined by more than 8 percentage points since 2006. The percentage of responding Asian, Black, and Hispanic judicial officers has doubled over the same time period.
See in The Recorder Report: Judicial Diversity Grew in California Courts Last Year, noting "The Sixth District Court of Appeal is the only appellate court with a majority of women serving as judges, 71.4%."
The DJ has Courts growing more diverse, women’s numbers climb -- The number of women serving on appellate and superior courts throughout the state increased from 655 to 672 as of Dec. 31, and women now outnumber men 4-3 on the state Supreme Court for the first time since 2018, according to demographic data released Wednesday by the Judicial Council of California.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has followed in the footsteps of his predecessors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown, prioritizing diversity in his judicial nominations since he took office in 2018. In August, Newsom nominated Patricia Guerrero to serve as California’s Chief Justice — the first Latina to hold that position — and elevated Kelli Evans to the state Supreme Court — the first openly lesbian person to serve on California’s highest court.
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