Focusing on some of the progress South African women judges have made.

fifth anniversary of the International Day of Women Judges

The 10th of March 2026 marks the fifth anniversary of the International Day of Women Judges, a United Nations-recognised day to highlight the strides women have made as judges and judicial officers across the world. It is also a day to draw attention to the barriers to advancement that women still face in achieving equal representation in the judiciary.

It is worth looking back at some of the progress South African women judges have made, especially in the last year. According to the Annual Judiciary Report 2024/25, women now make up 49% (or 122) of the 251 judges in South Africa. This is from the low base of only two women out of about 150 judges in 1994. Women lead six of the 16 superior courts, occupying two of the top four leadership positions, including Chief Justice Mandisa Maya and Supreme Court of Appeal President Mahube Molemela. The numbers are even more impressive in the lower court judiciary, where women make up 54% of all magistrates, and ten of the 14 chief magistrates are women. Furthermore, five of the nine regional court presidents across the nine regions are women. These strides have, of course, come at considerable effort from the leaders of the judiciary, including both the Magistrates Commission and the Judicial Service Commission. Despite these strides, women still face structural barriers to their continued stay in the judiciary. One of these barriers is sexual harassment.  The 2024 Magistrates Survey, conducted by the Democratic Governance and Rights Unit at the University of Cape Town, revealed that one in eight magistrates indicated that either they or someone they knew was sexually harassed in court. Women magistrates were twice as likely to say that they know of at least one or two cases.

There is hope.

Location: Cape Town, South Africa

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