Why women judges really matter

The impact of women judges on property law outcomes in Kenya

Bibliographic Data

ID12282978
AuthorsMartha Gayoye (0000-0002-5218-9840, University of Warwick, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume31
Issue1
Pages72-98
Publication date2021-04-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial & Legal Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0964-6639 • E-ISSN: 1461-7390
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/09646639211007905
OpenAlexW3155618421
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited36

In this paper, I discuss the impact that women judges have made in property law outcomes in Kenya. The study shows that women judges were able to influence a feminist jurisprudence in matrimonial property and inheritance disputes peripherally even though they were not sitting in some of those cases – through trainings of other [male] judges and informal interactions with colleagues. I argue that there is need to focus lens on the collaborative and networking programmes of women judges to bring about institutional change as opposed to a focus on individual women judges. The findings suggest that studies that focus on individual [women] judges have far less potential to uncover the impact of collective efforts of women judges. Existing studies are based largely on Anglo-American positivist methodologies that are based on methodological individualism over collectivism. It is no wonder that the collective efforts of women judges under the auspices of the International Women Judges Association has received little to no scholarly attention

Collectivism · Family law · Formality · Individualism · Jurisprudence · Political science · Sociology · Wonder · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Law in Society and Culture · Legal Education and Practice Innovations · Psychology · Social Psychology

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