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Women fill seats, claiming all 10 common pleas judge seats in Summit County

Posted at 5:41 PM, Nov 08, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-08 17:50:13-05

Summit County Common Pleas bench is all women for what could be the first time in history after Tuesday night's election.

Judge Tammy O'Brien has served for eight years in the county, and said the gender makeup is putting Akron on the map.

“We have been fortunate that both parties have recognized that females are electable, and in judgeships are inherently fair," she said. "It really is an anomaly in the state of Ohio."

Having the panel of 10 women judges on the common pleas bench means women will take just over 70 percent of the elected judicial seats.

As for the private sector, the representation is not always the same from O'Brien's eyes.

“As far as CEO’s and things like that, we are underrepresented. Females are underrepresented, and certainly in the practice of law," O'Brien said.

To address that, there will be a women's leadership summit on Friday, “Flux: a movement for change,” at the John S. Knight Center, 77 East Mill St. in downtown Akron. It goes from 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

The purpose is to bring women and men together in a safe environment for education and conversation, coming up with ways to create equitable workplaces in Northeast Ohio.

Tickets are $149 for members, $199 for nonmembers.