Women in the Judiciary

Does gender matter in judging? And if so, in what way? Why were there so few women judges only two or three decades ago, and why are there so many now in most countries of the Western world? How do women judges experience their work in a previously male-dominated environment? What are their professional careers? How do they organise and live their lives? And, finally and most notably: do women judge differently from men (or even better)? These are the questions dealt with in this collection of contributions by seven authors from six countries (UK, Australia, USA, Canada, Syria and Argentina), contrasting views from common law and civil law countries. In spite of differences in the two legal systems, as well as greater gender diversity on the bench and the overall higher income and prestige enjoyed by judges in common law countries, women judges in all these countries – Syria included – share many problems. Diverse and intriguing facets are added to a debate that started thirty years ago but continues to leave ample space for further discussion.

This book was originally published as a special issue of International Journal of the Legal Profession

Ulrike Schultz, qualified as a lawyer, is a Senior Academic at the University of Hagen, Germany. She is former Head of the Law Faculty's Teaching and Learning Unit specialised in media work; teaching gender and law at the law faculty; communication trainer for lawyers and the judiciary.

Gisela Shaw worked as a freelance translator of philosophical publications and as part-time lecturer in German at Bristol University. In 1976 she joined the University of the West of England as a lecturer. She was awarded a personal chair in German studies and took on the post of Director of Research for the Faculty of Modern Languages and European Studies, until her retirement in 2002. Prior to eventually being made Emeritus Professor, she was awarded the title of Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences.