Inside Arbitration: Can We End Discrimination In Arbitration?

In Issue 13 of Inside Arbitration we explored the efforts of the international arbitration community and beyond to improve gender diversity, particularly among arbitrators. The arbitration community has also acknowledged the need to focus on other forms of diversity – in particular ethnic, racial and cultural diversity. Institutions have begun to monitor the nationality and place of qualification of arbitrators, but efforts in this sphere are at a much more fledgling stage. Despite these efforts, change is slow. The statistics for party and co-arbitrator appointments of female arbitrators remain stubbornly low.

The LCIA's Casework Report for 2022, which was published in June of this year, showed a decrease in the percentage of women selected by the parties (19%, albeit up from 16% in 2021) and co-arbitrators (23%, down from 33% in 2021). These low percentages of female arbitrators selected for party appointment are replicated across other main arbitral institutions