Vt. leads nation in gender parity on the bench

[cali]

By MICHAEL VIRTANEN
The Associated Press - Published: May 15, 2011

ALBANY, N.Y. — Vermont leads the nation in the percentage of female federal and state judges, while the national rate rose slightly this year to almost 27 percent, a new report shows.

Some judicial districts in upstate New York and other parts of the country have virtually no female judges.

Vermont was first at almost 40 percent, unchanged from a year earlier, and Idaho remained last at 11.3 percent in the report by the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy in Albany.

“We are encouraged that at least we are seeing progress, but at the same time progress has been so slow and not consistent with the fact that we have enough women who are qualified to serve on the bench,” said Dina Refki, executive director of the college’s Center for Women in Government & Civil Society.

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http://www.timesargus.com/article/20110515/NEWS04/705159927/1002/NEWS01

[dkf]

1. Vermont seems to be ahead of the curve in a lot of things

Good for them.