Now Reading: Women get only 30% of arbitrator appointments, study finds
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Women get only 30% of arbitrator appointments, study finds
Men account for 70% of arbitrator appointments by the Supreme Court and the Delhi and Bombay high courts, a NALSAR University study has found. Of 2,283 appointments recorded in 2025, 1,598 went to men and 685 to women, according to the Milon K. Banerji Centre for Arbitration Law's report.
Former Supreme Court judge Justice Indira Banerjee, speaking at the report's launch, said the disparity reflects the historically limited representation of women in the higher judiciary. She estimated only five or six retired women Supreme Court judges are available for arbitration appointments at any given time. The study covered 3,688 cases but did not examine whether the figures mirror the gender composition of the eligible arbitrator pool.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Barandbench and Times of India both report the same NALSAR study finding that men account for 70% of court-appointed arbitrators. Barandbench frames the story around Justice Indira Banerjee's explanation that the imbalance stems from the historical under-representation of women in the higher judiciary, quoting her estimate that only five or six retired women Supreme Court judges are available. Times of India leads with the headline figure of 70% and provides granular court-wise breakdowns, attributing the disparity to the narrow pool of eligible women judges, citing Bar Council data on women in the legal profession. Neither outlet overstates or omits the core findings, both attribute the gap to supply-side constraints. The coverage is uniform straight reporting of the study's statistics and the judges' remarks at the launch. The study does not assess whether the appointment figures reflect the gender composition of the eligible arbitrator pool.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): barandbench.com (neutral report), timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
