Diversity
ICC Court sees marked progress on gender diversity
The International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has revealed a marked growth in the number of women arbitrators appointed for ICC proceedings.
Disclosing gender statistics for the second year running, the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce has revealed a marked growth in the number of women arbitrators appointed for ICC proceedings.
Up 4.4% from 2015 statistics, women arbitrators represented 14.8% of all arbitrators appointed by ICC Arbitration parties, co-arbitrators or directly by the Court in 2016. This figure more than doubles the number of women arbitrators recorded for 2011.
“While there is still a long way to go, our latest figures are a welcome sign of steady progress,” said Alexis Mourre, President of the ICC Court. “We hope to see this positive trend continue in the future and continue doing everything possible to adhere to our commitment to improve diversity in arbitration worldwide.”
According to ICC figures, of 1,411 arbitrators appointed in 2016, 209 were women, compared with 136 of 1,313 total arbitrators in 2015. This means that in 2016, ICC not only increased the number of total arbitrators appointed by 98 but of those 73 were women. Figures for 2016 also reveal that the 209 women arbitrators appointed represented 47 nationalities.
ICC appoints arbitrators in less than a quarter of cases but in 2016 the world’s leading arbitral institution was responsible for appointing a higher percentage of women (46.5%) than the parties themselves (41.1%) and by co-arbitrators (12.4%). The Court also appointed 57 women arbitrators upon proposal from an ICC regional representative – known as national committees – and made 38 direct appointments. In 2016, women were appointed in one third of all emergency arbitrator cases.
ICC is a signatory of the Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge, which calls for enhanced diversity in international arbitration.
ICC disclosed statistics on the gender balance of ICC tribunals for the first time in 2016 as part of the Court’s on-going strategy to enhance both the diversity and transparency of international arbitration.
A full statistical report will be made available in the next edition of the Court Bulletin. The Bulletin is free to members or available to purchase from the ICC Knowledge 2 GO.
