The Adjudication Society is fully supportive of inclusivity and is committed to achieving more equal representation of all under-represented groups in our adjudication community.
As part of this commitment, over the past 20 years, the Adjudication Society has consistently sought to publish data and information on statutory adjudication on an annual basis for the benefit of all entities involved with statutory adjudication.
In close collaboration with The Adjudication Society, King’s College London has recently published “2022 Construction Adjudication in the United Kingdom: Tracing trends and guiding reform” authored by Professor Renato Nazzini & Aleksander Kalisz. This report has identified that only 7.88% of Adjudicators on panels among the eight British ANBs that published their adjudicator lists online are women. Currently this is the only statistic collected in relation to a protected group as defined by the Equal Representation Act 2010.
The Adjudication Society is committed to improving this statistic as a first step towards equal representation for all and taking into account the huge progress already made in improving the number of female arbitrator appointments over recent years.
The Adjudication Society also notes and agrees that increasing the number of female adjudicators, and female adjudicator appointments, is only a first step and that further steps will need to be taken in relation to other protected characteristics
To achieve this first seminal step, the Adjudication Society has identified two immediate actions:
- Establishing a Women in Adjudication Group: this group will sit under the umbrella of the Adjudication Society and is tasked with the promotion of women in adjudication, training and collecting qualitative data to understand why their participation is currently so low; and
- The creation of the Equal Representation in Adjudication Pledge: all persons with an interest in adjudication may volunteer to take this pledge which is a commitment to improving the profile and representation of women as adjudicators in the UK.
Both initiatives are being led by a Steering Group consisting of experienced Adjudication professionals across the industry: Details of the steering group
Claire King and Morwenna Crichton of the Committee form the smaller Working Group tasked with launching both initiatives.
Women in Adjudication will initially:
- Set up mentoring programmes to encourage female adjudicators;
- Host events and talks aimed at encouraging female adjudicators;
- Provide training;
- Gather evidence that will assist in advancing the interests of women in adjudication.
If you are an existing member of the Adjudication Society and would like to join the Women in Adjudication Group please go to your Member Dashboard, then click 'Edit Member Profile' in the right sidebar.
If you are not currently a member of the Adjudication Society and wish to join The Adjudication Society and the Women in Adjudication Group please click here.
If you would like to propose any activities for Women in Adjudication please do not hesitate to contact either Claire King (cking@fenwickelliott.com) and/or Morwenna Crichton (mcrichton@yellandsavage.com).