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On this last day of Women’s History Month, I would be remiss not to celebrate the first slate of Biden-Harris judicial nominees. Of the 11 nominees announced today, nine are women, seven of whom are women of color!
This groundbreaking slate includes three Black women Circuit Court nominees, one of whom would be the first Black woman Federal Circuit judge, as well as the first AAPI woman to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of D.C. and the first woman of color to serve as a federal judge for the District of Maryland. While these historic nominations to the courts definitely spark feminist joy, the fact that many firsts remain for the district, circuit, and Supreme courts means that we still have much to do to improve judicial diversity and repair the damage to courts from the last four years.
The federal judiciary has never been reflective of the rich demographic diversity of this country–it is overwhelmingly white, male, and straight. Currently, women make up only 34% of the federal judiciary, and women of color a mere 7%. We have not had a Black woman confirmed to the Circuit Courts in almost 10 years.
Here are three reasons why gender diversity on the courts matters:
We won’t rest until we see more women represented in all positions of power. As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg famously said, “When will there be enough women on the court? And my answer is when there are nine.”