YEAR 2019 N.º 3

ISSN 2182-9845

Judiciary Power, judicial decision and gender stereotypes

Fernanda Andrade Almeida / Larissa Gil de Lima

Keywords

Judiciary Power; Gender; Judicial decision; Feminization of legal careers; Brazil; legal professions.

Abstract

The article's objective is to analyze - in a scenario of the increasing number of female judges - the relation between gender and judicial decision. Based on a literary review about the theme, this paper highlights some conclusions from other theorists about the topic. Then, it explores the reproduction of gender stereotypes in the law and the Judiciary Power. Finally, some judicial decisions are presented to problematize the hypothetical presumption that female judges would have, necessarily, a beneficial view - or less stereotyped – about women in their legal decisions. The achieved results in the literature were inconclusive about the relationship between gender and judicial decision. Besides, it’s important to keep in mind that recently, especially in Brazil, the number of empirical studies on the subject has increased. This research was developed in the Brazilian context, but, in comparatives terms, presents some examples of the Portuguese law – in the legislative and judicial spheres.