'Women & The Law' with the Rt Hon the Baroness Hale of Richmond

Lady Hale, President of the UK Association of Women Judges, retired President of the Supreme Court and author of the inspirational autobiography, 'Spider Woman' was in conversation with Professor Shazia Choudhry, Professor in the Faculty of Law and Jeffrey Hackney Tutorial Fellow in Law at Wadham, at the Holywell Music Room.

Robert Hannigan, Warden of Wadham, welcomed our speakers and guests to the first of our 'Wadham in the World' events, Women & The Law. A recording of the event is available to watch here.

Professor Choudhry asked Lady Hale about how her journey to the Supreme Court began. This had many pitfalls at a time when only 2.5 per cent of girls in the relevant age group went to university, while twice as many boys did so. Lady Hale's mother and father, parents to three daughters, were great believers not just in education but in equality in education. It was expected that their children would be among those girls who did continue to university. Lady Hale comes from a family of strong-minded women. She lost her father at the young age of 13 and her mother was keen that she and her sisters should have a profession so that they would be independent.

As a keen History student, it was constitutional history that initially sparked Lady Hale's interest in constitutional law, particularly that of the seventeenth century, and the legacies of many brave lawyers that paved the way for future change.

However, some traditions were among the challenges faced by women lawyers. They could not be members of the Bar Mess before an official vote changed this in the 1960s. The lack of women lawyers meant that there were many opportunities for Lady Hale to be the first woman or second woman to reach a milestone, for example she was the first woman Law Commissioner. Such opportunities are fewer today but there is still much to do, with women making up only 25 percent of those in the High Court and Court of Appeal.

Professor Choudry asked Lady Hale about her priorities for change, or what has been described as the 'Brenda Agenda'. Central to this is the importance of asking the 'woman question', or how does this look from the life experience of a woman? Lady Hale still wants to see more women in the judiciary.

The Warden thanked Lady Hale and Professor Choudhry for a fascinating and insightful discussion, before presenting Lady Hale with a photograph of her father and our alumnus, which was taken during his time at Wadham.

If you missed the event or would like to see it again, you can watch it here.