News

Women in the Pennsylvania judiciary

News Article

March 13, 2020

In recognition of National Women’s History Month, March is an ideal time to look at the history of women in the Pennsylvania judiciary as well as those women currently serving. 

It has been 90 years since the first woman, Sara M. Soffel (Allegheny), served as a judge in Pennsylvania. Today, 31 percent of Pennsylvania’s active judges are women. 

In fact, there are currently three women serving on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The majority of the judges now serving on the Superior Court (73 percent) and Commonwealth Court (67 percent) are women, and the president judge of Commonwealth Court is a woman. Additionally, 13 women currently serve as president judges in the Courts of Common Pleas. 

The infographic below highlights data about women on the bench. Download a high-resolution version of the graphic. 

PA Courts InfoShare is a monthly product of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC) that visually highlights the work of the courts with interesting data and statistics obtained through the judiciary’s case management systems, interactive dashboards and other research. Reproduction is encouraged with source cited. 

## 

Media contact: Kim Bathgate, 717-231-3331