BSB publishes its annual diversity at the Bar Report

.The report, which supports the BSB in fulfilling its obligations under the Equality Act 2010, reveals significant diversity trends at the Bar, particularly concerning gender, ethnicity, and disability.

Key findings from the report include an increase in the proportion of female barristers, now at 41.2%, marking a rise of 5.3 percentage points since 2015. The percentage of female KCs has also seen a rise, increasing by 0.8 percentage points from 20.3% in 2023 to 21.1% in 2024. The representation of barristers from a minority ethnic background is now 17.3%, up by 0.4 percentage points from December 2023 and 4.3 percentage points over the last decade.

Despite these positive trends, disparities remain, particularly between the overall proportion of barristers from minority ethnic backgrounds and the proportion of KCs from those backgrounds, which stands at 10.8%. The report also highlights a 0.9 percentage point increase in the number of barristers declaring a disability, with the largest rise seen among pupils.

Mark Neale, BSB Director-General, commented: "It is encouraging to see that over the last year the Bar has continued to become more representative of the society that it serves. Nonetheless, there are still significant disparities, including between the proportion of the Bar who are female and the proportion of KCs who are female and between proportion of the Bar who come from a minority ethnic background and the proportion of KCs who come from a minority ethnic background." He stressed that breaking down these barriers is crucial for the future development of the profession.