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International Women’s Day

2020 marked the 100-year anniversary of the first women admitted to the Inn.  These six women were admitted to the Inn in 1920.  In 2020, 411 women were admitted to the Inn, 52% of our Bar Course scholars were women, and 50% of our pupils were women.

The Bar has come a long way in the last hundred years but there is still much to be done to ensure this parity in the early years translates to parity at the more senior levels of the profession and judiciary.  The latest diversity data published by the Bar Standards Board shows that just 16.8% of QCs are women.  The latest diversity data on the judiciary published by the Government shows that 32% of all court judges and 47% of all tribunal judges are women but only 26% of those in the High Court and above are women.

In the meantime and in honour of International Women’s Day, let’s celebrate the achievements of some of the remarkable women members of the Inn.

Narita Bahra
Enid Rosser
Cornelia Sorabji
Mary MacMurray
Barbara Mensah
Mary Arden
Mithan Tata
Janet Smith
Photograph of Mercy Ashworth, first woman to be called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn, 1923
Yasmin Qureshi
Narita Bahra - Admitted to the Inn 1996; Called to the Bar 1997; Took Silk 2019
Enid Rosser - Admitted to the Inn 1922; Called to the Bar 1927; First woman to be instructed in a murder trial
Cornelia Sorabji - Admitted to the Inn 1922; Called to the Bar 1923; First woman to study law at Oxford. Photo copyright Somerville College
Mary MacMurray - Admitted to the Inn 1951; Called the Bar 1954; First female Bencher of the Inn
Barbara Mensah - Admitted to the Inn 1982; Called to the Bar 1984; Appointed a Circuit Judge 2005, the first Circuit Judge of African origin
Mary Arden - Admitted to the Inn 1973; Call to the Bar 1971 by Gray's Inn; Elected a Bencher of Lincoln's Inn 1993; Appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court 2018, the third woman to become a Supreme Court Justice
Mithan Tata - Admitted to the Inn 1920; Called to the Bar 1923; First Indian woman to be Called, co-first woman to be Called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn
Janet Smith - Admitted to the Inn 1969; Called to the Bar 1972; Elected a Bencher of the Inn 1992; Treasurer of the Inn 2012; Appointed a Lady Justice of Appeal 2002, the fourth woman to be appointed to the Court of Appeal
Mercy Ashworth - Admitted to the Inn 1920; Called to the Bar 1923; Co-first woman to be Called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn
Yasmin Qureshi - Admitted to the Inn 1983; Called to the Bar 1985; Elected an MP 2010, first woman elected to represent Bolton South East and one of the first Muslim women to be elected an MP