With the Friday deadline for nominations to fill two openings on the Georgia Supreme Court—whose only two women justices are leaving, and where the number of African-Americans has remained steady at two even as the total number of justices increased from seven to nine—diversity is on the minds of many watching Gov. Nathan Deal’s selection process.

“We hope that somewhere it resonates that diversity matters in how we make decisions from the bench,” said Rita Treadwell, president of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys (GABWA), in an interview Wednesday. “We have highly qualified members statewide ready to serve.”