This sign for the toilets in the Royal Courts of Justice goes beyond everyday sexism

By LC on

Female advocates, male non-advocates and wheelchair users are all flummoxed by this sign for the toilets at the Royal Courts of Justice

RCJ-sign

The Royal Courts of Justice contains what may be the least politically correct sign that remains in modern Britain today.

The sign — which Legal Cheek was notified of yesterday — could almost be dismissed as quaint if it wasn’t for the legal profession’s terrible problems with gender diversity at its senior levels.

Just to recap:

Just one out of 12 judges in the UK Supreme Court is female.

Women make up just 11% of QCs.

Women make up just 23% of partners at the UK’s top law firms.

Happily, after Legal Cheek alerted HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to the sign this morning we can report that a temporary change has been made to replace the word ‘Advocates’ with ‘Gentlemen’s’. A spokesperson for HMCTS said:

“We apologise for any offence that the sign has caused and it has been changed.”