The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has published its annual summary of the latest available diversity data for the Bar. It covers pupils, practising King’s Counsel (KC) barristers and practising non-KC barristers.
The report covers the practising Bar as of 1 December 2025, a year which has seen the continuation of several longer-term trends. This includes an increase in the proportion of practising barristers who are female; who are from a minority ethnic background; who have primary care of a child; and who are aged 55 or more. The report finds:
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The overall proportion of women at the Bar increased to 41.9 per cent, with women also making up 60.3 per cent of pupils. This is the highest proportion of female pupils since the first Diversity at the Bar report in 2015.
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The proportion of non-KCs who are female has risen to 44 per cent. However, a large disparity remains at KC level, where women only account for 21.5 per cent of KCs.
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Around 17.7 per cent of the Bar is from a minority ethnic background, which has increased by 0.4 percentage points (pp) since December 2024, and by 4.3 pp in the last ten years.
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There has been an increase of 0.8 pp in the proportion of the Bar with a declared disability between December 2024 and December 2025.
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The proportion of the Bar who are aged 55 and over has risen to 27.4 per cent. This represents an 11.4 pp increase from ten years ago.
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While there has been an increase in the proportion of both male and female barristers who provide primary care for a child, women are more likely to have caring responsibilities. As of December 2025, 41.2 per cent of female barristers, and 23.2 per cent of male barristers provided primary care for a child, an increase of 1.9 and 5.6 percentage points respectively since December 2020.
Ewen MacLeod, Director, Strategy, Policy and Insights, The Bar Standards Board said:
“Despite progress over the last year, significant disparities continue to exist between men and women at the Bar, and for ethnic minorities, particularly in relation to progression and entry into more senior roles.
The culture change required to increase the participation and progression of under-represented groups needs the support and active collaboration of the profession. We are committed to working in partnership to drive change and meet our shared objectives.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
The Annual Diversity at the Bar Report can be found on the BSB website.
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