By MATT CHANDLER
mchandler@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1654

On May 19, the second-floor ceremonial courtroom at the downtown courthouse was abuzz as some of the most powerful women in the region gathered to celebrate advancements in judicial equality.

Led by Judge Rose Bailey, 25 judges from the 8th Judicial District gathered for a luncheon and photos to mark the 25th anniversary of a report from the New York Task Force on "women in the Courts."

"That report pointed out the relatively small number of women on the bench, as well as the problems that women faced whether they were judges, litigants or lawyers," says Bailey, head of the district's Gender and Racial Fairness Committee. "Now it's 25 years later and it is so wonderful to see so many women on the bench at all levels."

Looking out at all the women in the courtroom that day, Bailey - who has been a judge for eight years and worked in the courts for 34 - says the progress is impressive.

"When they issued this report 25 years ago, only three of the 26 Supreme Court judges in our district were female. Now, 25 years later, there are 34 Supreme Court judges in our district and 13 of them are female," she says.

Following the 1986 report, according to Bailey, committees were set up statewide to address the challenges women faced in the profession. Judith Claire, for example, was the first female judge in Chautauqua County. Recalling her early days, she says that when she had the distinction of being the only woman practicing law there, she saw firsthand the discrimination women faced in a male-dominated profession.

"Things are so different now," Claire says. "I like the fact that no one even thinks about gender anymore."

That wasn't always the case.

"When I graduated law school and was first practicing, it was very much an issue," she says. "When I went for job interviews, I got questions on things like what kind of clothes would I wear, what would I do if my husband was home sick. At one law firm, they even asked me if I used birth control."

Though it would be unheard of (and illegal) to ask a job applicant such questions these days, Claire and other jurists say they show what many women had to go through to earn respect and equality on the bench.

"For me, when there is no longer a need to have these kinds of events, that's when there will be true equality," she says. "On the flip side, I think the world is a totally different place than it was then. And in Chautauqua County, I don't think people consider gender really at all."

Judge Donna Siwek is a Supreme Court justice in the 8th Judicial District. She echoes the sentiments of her colleagues when it comes to progress being made.

"This is my 11th year on the bench, and even in that short period of time you have seen the expansion of the representation of women on the bench," Siwek says. "I don't think voters are looking at us as women; I think they are looking at us as candidates for the job."

With the University at Buffalo Law School nearby, does she consider herself and others as role models for young women who may be considering a career in law or who are currently attending UB?

"It's interesting because I went to an all-girls high school and when I graduated in 1979, I was told that I could do anything I wanted to if I put my mind to it," she says. "So today, I hope young women have that perspective. And I think it is great that we have the law school so close by because we mentor a lot of the law students on a regular basis, and I would certainly hope any woman law student would look at the number of women on the bench today and believe that they can do it."

As she and others gathered to re-create a photo of sitting judges from nearly a century ago in the same courtroom, Judge Bailey summed up the significance of the gathering.

"This is to celebrate how far we have come," Bailey says.

"We have made tremendous strides in the last 25 years, and as far as things have progressed, I always think there is room for improvement."