Baroness Carr, the Lady Chief Justice, has hosted an event to celebrate the 75th anniversary of women being admitted as King’s Counsel (KCs), the award for excellence in advocacy in the higher courts, otherwise known as 'taking silk'.

More than 350 women KCs and judges joined in celebrations at the Royal Courts of Justice to mark 75 years since Helena Normanton and Rose Heilbron became the first women to take silk.

Speaking in the Great Hall, Carr, who took silk at 4 New Square in 2003, said: “Women are generally well represented in the legal professions, although we still see fewer women in the top positions.

“Progress has been made, but the path is much harder for some, and we must, as we do tonight, celebrate success – that’s you, all of you here tonight – you are all magnificent and an extraordinary inspiration to the profession and young aspiring lawyers everywhere.”

Carr said that the Judicial Diversity Forum, where she sits with the Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, and others, aimed to ensure the judiciary remained inclusive and welcoming for judges, of whom women silks were “a pipeline of talent”.

The event was organised by Mrs Justice McGowan, a former Bar Council chairman, Mrs Justice Theis, and Mrs Justice Morgan, and was supported by the First 100 Years project, which promotes women in law by “documenting the journey of women in the legal profession, from 1919 to the present day”.

All four Inns of Court and leading specialist bar associations participated, as did solicitors.

McGowan said: “This is an occasion of celebration; following the path laid by those few women so many years ago, we have moved increasingly towards greater equality in representation for women coming to the Bar and being appointed silk. We have not yet reached parity, but we have made great progress, and I am delighted to mark this wonderful achievement.”

Since 1949, more than 640 women KCs have been appointed, including Dame Rose Heilbron’s daughter, the arbitrator Hilary Heilbron KC, who took silk in 1987.

Heilbron said: “As a strong and vocal supporter of women’s rights and opportunities for women in the law, my mother would have been delighted to learn of the progress that has been made, slow though it has been.”

She noted that, as late as 1969, her mother was the only female QC practising at the Bar and said she would have been “thrilled” to recognise other female trailblazers in the law, albeit that “there is still a way to go”.

In the first 50 years since the first women silks were appointed – up to 1998 – 96 women took silk, while from 1999 to 2024, 545 joined these ranks.

Some 32 per cent of successful applicants in 2024’s silk round were women (30 out of 95), with the total number of women silks ever appointed standing at 641.

In 1991, Baroness Patricia Scotland, the former Attorney General, became the first black woman to take silk, while in 2002, Kim Hollis became the first Asian woman to be appointed.

The first woman solicitor to take silk, meanwhile, was June Venters, in 2007. Venters recently joined family law set 3 Paper Buildings while retaining her position as senior partner of her firm, Venters Solicitors.

More recently, Ruth Byrne, of King & Spalding, Kate Davies McGill, of Skadden Arps, and Sylvia Noury, of Freshfields, took silk in 2022. No female solicitor silk has been appointed since, with 65 solicitors having successfully been appointed, 11 of whom were women.

A notable trailblazer is Clea Topolski KC, of Crucible Chambers, who took silk in 2024. She began her legal career as a paralegal, qualifying as a solicitor in 2008 before securing higher rights and transferring to the criminal Bar in 2014.

She said: “True equity in law can only be achieved when we see genuine diversity reflected in the highest held positions. I am committed to supporting this need for change in any way I can. Leadership, to me, means proactively championing progress. As I take my first tentative steps into this new position, I hope to never lose sight of this principle.”

Dana Denis-Smith, founder of the First 100 Years project, is a judge for the Women and Diversity in Law Awards, which take place on 18 March in London. Click here for more details.