Photo: Some of the female chief justices taken at the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) Annual Conference in August 2024
March 6, 2025
Two frequently asked questions that NCSC receives every year, usually in March, are how many women are there on courts of last resort, and how many of those courts have a female majority?
March is National Women’s History Month. Established in 1995, the month is defined by an annual presidential proclamation that celebrates the contributions that women have made to the United States. This year’s theme is “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations.”
Data we collected in early February 2025 from state court websites show slight increases in the number of female judges sitting on courts of last resort (COLR). From 2024 to 2025:
- 43% of COLR judges are women, up from 41% one year ago.
- The number of states with over 40% female COLR justices increased from 35 to 36.
- States with over 50% female COLR justices increased from 15 to 20 in 2025.
The state which continues to hold the highest percentage of female justices in a state court of last resort is Wisconsin at 86%. Alaska has 80%. Illinois, Michigan, and Nevada have 71%.
These increases follow the upward trend of female representation in courts of last resort shown in prior years.
Comparing data from 2019 to 2025 marks these trends:
Female Chief Justices | Female Justices | Courts with >40% Female Justices | Courts with >50% Female Justices | |
2019 | 16 | 35.4% | 24 | 11 |
2025 | 26 | 42.6% | 36 | 20 |
What about chief justices? There were 21 states that had female chief justices in 2024. In 2025, 26 states have female chief justices.
What are your court’s frequently asked questions? We want to know! We may feature it with answers from other states in a future edition. Contact Knowledge@ncsc.org or call 800-616-6164. Follow the National Center for State Courts on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Vimeo. For more Trending Topic posts, visit ncsc.org/trendingtopics and subscribe to the LinkedIn newsletter.