Gender Effects Across Place: A Multilevel Investigation of Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Region in Sentencing

Abstract

Previous empirical research has indicated that women receive less punitive sentencing outcomes, compared to their male counterparts, while controlling for legally relevant case characteristics. This advantage persists at the federal level, despite the implementation of sentencing guidelines. However, drawing from the “intersectionalities” literature, it does not appear as though all women are equal beneficiaries of this courtroom leniency. Specifically, women of color are less inclined to receive sentencing benefits in response to the differential stereotyping of this demographic. Furthermore, due to differing sociohistorical contexts and gender ideologies, the influence of gender on sentencing outcomes will likely vary across place. This study contributes to the existing sentencing literature by examining whether, and to what extent, gender leniency is moderated by race/ethnicity and geographic region. Using data from the 2015 Monitoring of Federal Criminal Sentences, this study finds that women receive shorter sentence lengths than men. However, contrary to expectation, women of color receive shorter sentences than White women. Additionally, women who are adjudicated in the southern and border districts receive significantly longer sentences. These findings demonstrate the importance of contextualizing and disaggregating female criminal justice outcomes as well as the need to limit research and discourse that imply a singular shared experience among all women.

The Geography of Race and Ethnicity Effects in Federal Sentencing: A Descriptive and Spatial Analysis

“…Although men are traditionally more likely to be incarcerated and receive longer sentences than women, it is important to look at racial and ethnic disparities among women, as their experiences with the criminal legal system are unique (e.g., Kramer & Kelley, 2022; Kramer & Wang, 2019). Thus, future research should consider replicating these methods to look at the distribution of racial and ethnic disparities for women (see, e.g., Holland & Prohaska, 2021).…”

Criminal offense charges in women: A 10-year follow-up of an RCT of treatment foster care Oregon.

“…However, COC may not always lead to being convicted of the crime for which an individual was detained, and individuals can have different sentences for similar crimes. Because we know that racial and ethnic disparities and a host of other factors (e.g., mental illness, gender, age, geographical region) influence outcomes across the spectrum from arrest to sentencing (Holland & Prohaska, 2021; Pinchevsky & Steiner, 2016), the present study is limited by only analyzing COC. Future studies might corroborate the present study findings using multiple indicators across the spectrum of engagement in the justice system, from arrests, to detention or incarceration, to sentencing length, to sentence actually served.…”

Gender in the Courtroom Workgroup: Understanding the Relationship Between the Composition of Workgroups and the Gender Gap in Punishment

“…Specifically, women are more likely than their male counterparts to see their initial charges reduced (Johnson, 2018; Metcalfe & Chiricos, 2018; Romain Dagenhardt et al, 2022; Starr, 2014 but see Bishop & Frazier, 1984) and their case diverted (Alozie & Johnston, 2000), and they are more likely to be released pretrial (Demuth & Steffensmeier, 2004; Freiburger & Hilinski, 2010; Spohn, 2009). Of those convicted, women have lower odds of incarceration (Hauser & Peck, 2017; Kutateladze et al, 2014; Spohn & Beichner, 2000; Stemen & Escobar, 2018), receive shorter sentences (Cassidy & Rydberg, 2020; Franklin & Fearn, 2008; Holland & Prohaska, 2021; Tillyer et al, 2015), and are significantly less likely to be sentenced to life imprisonment (Johnson et al, 2021). These findings generally support the chivalry hypothesis in that, overall, women are treated less harshly than men across different stages of criminal justice processing.…”