Dismantling the Diversity Deficit: Towards a More Inclusive Australian Judiciary

Opeskin, B

Dismantling the Diversity Deficit: Towards a More Inclusive Australian Judiciary

Opeskin, B

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Publisher:: Cambridge University Press
Publication Type:: Chapter
Citation:: The Judge, the Judiciary and the Court: Individual, Collegial and Institutional Judicial Dynamics in Australia, 2020, pp. 1-31
Issue Date:: 2020-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Opeskin, B https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9393-3592
dc.contributor.editor	Appleby, G
dc.contributor.editor	Lynch, A
dc.date.accessioned	2020-07-12T23:38:32Z
dc.date.available	2020-07-12T23:38:32Z
dc.date.issued	2020-01-01
dc.identifier.citation	The Judge, the Judiciary and the Court: Individual, Collegial and Institutional Judicial Dynamics in Australia, 2020, pp. 1-31
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/141752
dc.description.abstract	For much of its history, Australia’s judiciary has been highly homogenous—comprised of white, middle-aged males from privileged socio-economic backgrounds. In recent years, there have been calls to redress this ‘diversity deficit’, namely, the gap between the composition of the judiciary and the composition of the population at large. This chapter examines the challenges faced by this social project by asking: (1) why does judicial diversity matter; (2) what characteristics are important for a diverse judiciary; (3) how do we measure the diversity deficit; and (4) what action is needed to redress the diversity deficit? The chapter argues that we should broaden our categories of interest, guided by the underlying justifications for diversity, and understandings of the social fabric derived from the national census. The changing nature of Australian society requires us to look beyond gender and race in fashioning an inclusive judiciary that is fit for purpose in the 21st century.
dc.format.extent	13
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Cambridge University Press
dc.relation.ispartof	The Judge, the Judiciary and the Court: Individual, Collegial and Institutional Judicial Dynamics in Australia
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.title	Dismantling the Diversity Deficit: Towards a More Inclusive Australian Judiciary
dc.type	Chapter
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Law
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	true
dc.date.updated	2020-07-12T23:38:28Z
pubs.publication-status	Accepted

Abstract:

For much of its history, Australia’s judiciary has been highly homogenous—comprised of white, middle-aged males from privileged socio-economic backgrounds. In recent years, there have been calls to redress this ‘diversity deficit’, namely, the gap between the composition of the judiciary and the composition of the population at large. This chapter examines the challenges faced by this social project by asking: (1) why does judicial diversity matter; (2) what characteristics are important for a diverse judiciary; (3) how do we measure the diversity deficit; and (4) what action is needed to redress the diversity deficit? The chapter argues that we should broaden our categories of interest, guided by the underlying justifications for diversity, and understandings of the social fabric derived from the national census. The changing nature of Australian society requires us to look beyond gender and race in fashioning an inclusive judiciary that is fit for purpose in the 21st century.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/141752