Scottish Women in Law Timeline

If you would like to add a significant event to our timeline – please get in touch.  We are keen to ensure that this is an evolving piece of work, document pioneering women and their journeys in law in Scotland.

1896 – Madge Easton Anderson

1900 – Margaret Howie Strang Hall

1908 – Nairn v University Courts of St Andrews and Edinburgh

1909 – Eveline MacLaren and Josephine Gordon Stuart first women law graduates

1912 – First women law students at the University of Glasgow

1913 – Madge begins her studies at the University of Glasgow

1917 – Madge begins studying at the Faculty of Law at UofG

1918 – The Representation of the People Act is passed

1919 – The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 is passed

1920 – Madge is admitted as a law agent in Scotland

1921 – The first female jurors in Scotland are sworn in at Edinburgh Sheriff Court

1923 – Dame Margaret Henderson Kidd KC (King’s Counsel) becomes the first woman member of the Faculty of Advocates

1928 – Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928

1930 – By the end of the year, 21 women have qualified to work as solicitors in Scotland

1937 – Madge qualifies as a solicitor in England

1948 – Margaret Kidd is appointed King’s Counsel in Scotland

1948 – Isabel Sinclair becomes the second woman to join the Faculty of Advocates

1960 – Margaret Kidd becomes the first woman Sheriff Principal

1967 – The Abortion Act 1967

1970 – The Equal Pay Act 1970

1975 – The Sex Discrimination Act 1975

1982 – Madge Easton Anderson dies on 9 August

1985 – The Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985

1990 – The first female law Professors are appointed at the University of Glasgow

1992 – Professor Esin Örücü becomes the third female law Professor at Glasgow

1996 – Lady Cosgrove is the first permanent female appointment to the Court of Session

1999 – Lady Clark becomes the first woman to hold a Law Officer position in the UK

2001 – Professor Olivia Robinson becomes the fourth female Professor at Glasgow

2001 – Dame Elish Angiolini QC becomes the first woman Solicitor General for Scotland

2003 – Lady Cosgrove becomes the first woman appointed to the Inner House of the Court of Session

2004 – Lady Hale became the first woman Lord of Appeal in Ordinary

2005 – Caroline Flanagan becomes the first female President of the Law Society of Scotland

2005 – The Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation (Scotland) Act 2005

2006 – Dame Elish Angiolini becomes the first female Lord Advocate in Scotland

2006 – Professor Elizabeth B Crawford becomes the fifth female Law Professor at Glasgow

2009 – Lorna Jack becomes The Law Society of Scotland’s first female chief executive

2010 – The Equality Act 2010

2011 – The Forced Marriage etc. (Protection and Jurisdiction) (Scotland) Act 2011

2014 – Nicola Sturgeon MSP becomes the first female First Minister of Scotland

2015 – Female solicitors now outnumber male counterparts in Scotland

2016 – Lady Dorrian QC becomes the first female Lord Justice Clerk

2016 – Lady Wolffe QC is the first woman appointed as a Commercial Judge in Scotland

2017 – Nicola Irvine is the first woman elected Dean of the Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow

2017 – Lady Hale becomes the first woman President of the UK Supreme Court

2018 – Anna Poole QC is appointed a Judge of the Upper Tribunal, Administrative Appeals Chamber

2018 – The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018

2019 – Jill Carrick becomes the first woman Dean of the Faculty of Procurators in Greenock