Judge Gender and the Voting Behavior of Justices on Two North American Supreme Courts

Abstract

While there have been a number of previous studies examining the similarities and differences in the voting behavior of male versus female judges, few have attempted cross-national comparisons. Since the early 1980s, the Supreme Courts of both the United States and Canada have had at least one female justice sitting at all times. The first female justice in the United States and the first female justice in Canada are on record as having very different beliefs about the practical effect of gender diversification of appellate courts. The present study is the first analysis to explore which of those perceptions about the consequences of such diversification is consistent with the actual patterns of voting by the justices on both courts. We find that in Canada, there are substantial gender differences on many of the significant policy areas that produce divisions on the Court. However, in the United States, gender differences disappear when one controls for the political party of the justice.