A CRITICAL STUDY ON THE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN THE JUDICIARY

The representation of women in the judiciary is central to the legitimacy, inclusiveness and credibility of a constitutional democracy. Although women constitute nearly half of India's population, they remain markedly under-represented on the bench, particularly in the higher judiciary. Women account for roughly 38 per cent of judges in the district judiciary but only about 14 per cent of High Court judges, and the Supreme Court, which has had only twelve women judges since 1950, has two women among its sitting judges as of mid-2026. This pattern, often described as a glass ceiling, raises questions of equality, merit, institutional design and access to justice. This study critically examines the representation of women in the Indian judiciary through the perspective of feminist jurisprudence. It analyses Articles 14, 15, 16, 124, 217 and 233–235 of the Constitution, the Collegium system of appointments, state judicial service rules including horizontal reservation in the subordinate judiciary, relevant judicial decisions and international instruments including CEDAW. It distinguishes descriptive from substantive representation, evaluates the evidence on whether women judges alter judicial outcomes, and examines structural barriers such as the narrow Bar-to-Bench pipeline, opacity in selection, seniority norms, care responsibilities and intersectional exclusion. The study finds that the growing number of women in the subordinate judiciary has not translated into proportionate representation in constitutional courts, and that the absence of transparent, diversity-sensitive criteria for higher judicial appointments is a principal reason. It argues that women's representation should be understood as a question of institutional legitimacy and equal citizenship, not as a claim that women judges decide differently. It recommends published selection criteria and data, publicly reported diversity targets for Collegium recommendations, stronger pipelines from the Bar and the subordinate judiciary, gender-responsive workplace policies and continued judicial education on gender, while safeguarding judicial independence and merit. KEYWORDS Women in Judiciary, Judicial Diversity, Feminist Jurisprudence, Gender Justice, Collegium System, Glass Ceiling, Substantive Equality, Representation, Judicial Appointments, Affirmative Action.