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