Recently renamed the Committee on Equality in the West Virginia Judiciary the original Task Force on Gender Fairness was created in December of 1993 and was part of a larger national movement to address the issue of gender fairness in the legal system. Forty state courts established such commissions or committees. The Implementation Committee was established though the efforts of Justice Workman as an outgrowth of the original committee. After a period of inaction, the Committee was revived in 1999.

The scope of the Committee has now broadened to address bias against gender, race, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, political affiliation, pregnancy, and marital status. 

The Committee has encouraged that many of the original Task Force’s recommendations be followed. For example, educating judicial officers on their duty to better accommodate pro se litigants, to develop and update educational materials and user-friendly forms similar to the divorce packet, and to provide training to judicial personnel on “bias in the courts.” Copies of Justice For All: Bias Free Behavior and Language In Our Courts have been distributed to court employees, members of the bar, and educational institutions. A discussion on gender and race bias was part of our intake staff training for the self-represented litigants. Additionally, Rory Perry, Supreme Court Clerk, has been requested to review all court rules for gender neutral language.