Courts: the 1410 Judges of U.S. Federal Courts
The 'Gavel Gap' in Federal Courts: only 1 out of 3 Federal Judges are women
According to the Federal Judicial Center, women make up 424 of the 1410 total sitting judges in Federal Courts (30%) – the District Courts, Circuit Courts, Appeal Courts and the Supreme Court – in the United States.
Of these 1410 judges, 424 men and women serve as Chief and Presiding Justices and Judges. Of this group, 116 (27%) are women.
Federal Courts: 424 out of 1410 = 30%
Chief & Presiding Justices: 116 out of 424 = 27%
According to an analysis by the American Constitution Society based on the above Federal Judicial Center data, 2 out of every 3 federal judges are men, and one of every three is a woman.
Biden is appointing a high percentage of women to the federal bench.
The 19th‘s Amanda Becker reported in July 2021 that “Biden’s federal judicial picks are 77 percent women so far,” and most of them “are women of color.” (analysis by Demand Justice). Among these are Supreme Court Justice Ketani Brown Jackson and Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi of the US Court of Appeals.
Women lose progress under Republican administrations.
National Public Radio reported in late 2018, “Donald Trump is reshaping the Judiciary,” thereby fulfilling a campaign promise to place more conservatives on the courts – which often equates to more men and fewer women. After filling three Supreme Court slots with Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, Trump nominated 155 judges. Just 23% of these were women. Though this is slightly higher than in previous Republican administrations, it is still significantly lower than the percentage of women justices appointed under Democratic presidents. For example, Biden is on track to nominate 77% women, and federal judges nominated by the Obama Administration were 42% female.
It is noteworthy than when “Donald Trump left office, more than a quarter of all federal judges were his nominees.”
What will it take for women to get into the Power Percentage of the Federal Courts of the United States?