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In case you haven't noticed there's an almighty row going on in the Church of England about female bishops. To anoint or not to anoint; that's the question. What a ridiculous debate to be having in this day and age.
The Church
The Church of England is anachronistic and increasingly irrelevant. I'm not entirely sure there isn't a lemming-like strain genetically embedded into the General Synod (as some wit put it "no wonder they're called Bishoprics"). But whilst church luminaries peddling gender nonsense is infuriating, I actually wanted to have a rant about another famous institution – the Bar.
The Bar
I'm not as angry about the Bar, but I'm far more frustrated. Notwithstanding Lord Neuberger's push for a bit of positive discrimination, The Council of Europe recently noted that when it comes to judicial gender splits, the UK only ranks ahead of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the European league – nice company! Barristers really should be better at this stuff. I mean the Bar might suffer from intellectual snobbery, but there is very little gender stereotyping possible in relation to the job itself and the nature of the work is inherently flexible and performance driven. It should be the perfect environment for the most talented women to rise to the top.
The Issue
So what's the problem? If I'm frustrated it's because the answer is so blindingly obvious. The whole set-up of the profession is inherently and obstructively masculine. What self-respecting woman wants to dress up in men's clothes; put herself through hours of verbal warfare; and then retire for a pint of Guinness and a steak and kidney pie á la Rumpole? And whilst chambers might be "gender irrelevant" zone they lack the kind of co-ordinated HR support that has made such a big difference at the law firms that feed them. Just look at the Inns of Court’s crazy, mooted plan for a central London nursery which was always unworkable.
Do you want to know what the room at the Royal Courts of Justice, where barristers cut last minute deals, is called? The Beer Garden. Change the name to Health and Beauty Spa; make wigs optional; give the Inns of Court a decent diversity champion and you might just be amazed at the progress…
Ben Black
