Her Ladyship Chief Justice: The Rise of Female Leaders in the Judiciary in Africa

Abstract

In recent years, women have been selected as leaders of African judiciaries.This article identifies where and when women have become chief justices and presidents of constitutional courts from 1990 to 2014.We profile women from three civil-law and three common-law countries and find that the women selected meet or exceed the requirements for holding the highest position in the judiciary.We then explore why some African countries, but not others, have had female judicial leaders.We initially find that the selection method may be less important than the type of legal system, the commitment of gatekeepers, the end of major armed conflict, and regional diffusion in explaining why some countries have seen women rise to leadership positions in the judiciary.

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