Where are the Women? Legal Traditions and Descriptive Representation on the European Court of Justice

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-27-2018

Publication Title

Politics, Groups, and Identities

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Abstract

What constrains the representation of women on the European Court of Justice (ECJ)? In this paper, we investigate how gender-based double standards can diminish the likelihood that the member state will select a female candidate. We find that the appointment of women to the ECJ depends upon the relationship between the appointee's policymaking backgrounds and the degree to which legal traditions in the member state provide policymaking experience to ordinary judges. The fact that this configuration has a disparate impact by candidate gender reflects the fact that female candidates are expected to demonstrate partisan neutrality or policymaking expertise, while male candidates are assumed to have these traits. Our findings demonstrate the importance of informal job requirements and institutional constraints on the ability of governments to achieve their representation goals.

Keywords

Gender; Representation; Bias; European Court of Justice; Judicial selection

Disciplines

Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Political Science

Language

English

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