Regional gender bias and year predict gender representation on civil trial teams
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21454779 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hannah J Phalen (0000-0003-3165-3373, University of Wyoming), Megan L Lawrence (0000-0002-2323-7719, Arizona State University), Kristen L Gittings (0009-0009-2635-2809, Arizona State University), Emily N Line (0000-0003-2844-807X, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Sara N Thomas (0009-0008-4290-8259, Arizona State University), Rose E Eerdmans (0000-0001-8869-3208, Arizona State University), Taylor C Bettis (0000-0002-5853-8300, Arizona State University), John C Campbell (Institute for Law and Justice), Jessica M Salerno (0000-0001-7394-6444, Arizona State University) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue | 5-6 |
| Pages | 580-596 |
| Publication date | 2024-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Law and Human Behavior (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0147-7307 • E-ISSN: 1573-661X |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037/lhb0000585 |
| PMID | 39480279 |
| OpenAlex | W4403946465 |
| Language | EN |
OBJECTIVE: There are documented gender disparities in the legal field. We examined whether gender representation on civil trial teams varied on the basis of (a) the degree of regional gender bias "in the air" and (b) time. HYPOTHESES: We hypothesized that women were underrepresented both on trial teams and in leadership roles within those teams. We predicted that these gender disparities were exacerbated in regions with stronger regional gender bias and that these gender disparities attenuated over time. METHOD: = 655). We created regional implicit and explicit gender bias scores based on the year and region of the case using Project Implicit data. Finally, we used order-constrained inference and Bayesian modeling to identify the best-performing models. RESULTS: Overall, women represented only 17% of attorneys at trial and 13% in leadership roles-indicating vast gender disparities. Gender disparities on teams and in leadership roles were more extreme in regions with high (vs. low) regional gender bias (teams: Bayes factor [BF] = 9,182; leadership: BF = 91,667) and improved over time (teams: BF = 6,420; leadership: BF = 3,495). Gender alone best predicted the likelihood of serving in a leadership role (BF = 1,197,397). CONCLUSIONS: Female attorneys were grossly underrepresented on civil trial teams. Gender representation on teams, but not leadership roles, has improved slightly over time. Culture may also contribute; women were less represented on trial teams in regions with greater gender bias in the air-particularly in leadership roles. Despite these slight improvements in representation on trial teams over time and in low-bias regions, gender disparities in leadership roles persist over time and levels of regional bias. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Gender bias · Implicit bias · Legal psychology · Political science · Representation (politics) · Diversity and Career in Medicine · Gender Diversity and Inequality · Law · Psychology · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies · Social Psychology
| Highly cited | No |
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