To “Mother” or not to “Mother”: The Representative Roles of Women Judges in Ghana

Abstract

Feminist scholars have debated questions of gender and judging by focusing on variables such as representation, difference, diversity and legitimacy. While illuminating, most of these studies are by scholars in the global north. More research is needed to understand issues of gender and judging in the global south. This article adds to existing literature by asking whether women judges promote women's rights. Through in-depth interviews with women judges in Ghana, the article demonstrates that women judges do promote women's rights. The article presents a new method of analysis: exploring the dichotomy between direct and indirect modes of representing women's rights. Recognizing the importance of substantive representation and the contributions of female judges in promoting women's rights, it argues that female judges are not a sufficient condition for promoting women's rights. Necessary conditions include laws guaranteeing women's rights, working partnerships with women's civil society organizations and an enabling socio-cultural climate.

Judicial Reshuffles and Women Justices in Latin America

“…Gender equality can improve the quality of legal decisions by increasing the diversity of ideas, values, and legal styles (Besson 2005; Feenan 2008; Kenney 2013; Rackley 2013). Women jurists are more likely to make decisions that promote gender equality (Boyd 2016; Boyd, Epstein, and Martin 2010; Dawuni 2016) and may decide differently across cases (Collins, Manning, and Carp 2010). Their presence also brings institutional legitimacy to courts (Grossman 2012).…”

Women in Judiciaries Across Africa

“…With Brenda Hale's appointment in 2009 as the first woman to the Supreme Court (then Court of Appeal), Great Britain has lagged, compared to the pace at which women judges in Africa have made it to the top judicial positions such as the Supreme Court or Constitutional Court. In 1991, Joyce Bamford-Addo made history as the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Ghana (Dawuni 2016b). The list of Chief justices and presidents of constitutional courts across Africa continues to grow since the early 2000s (Dawuni and Kang 2015).…”