This study examines how gender stereotypes affect voters’ perceptions of judicial candidates for state Supreme Courts. Included are an overview of state court structure, the history and methods of judicial selection, and a discussion of court composition within the context of gender.
This study’s objective is to contribute to literature that fails to address how voters’ use of stereotypes and perceptions of the judiciary combine to affect female judicial candidates. A survey is employed to identify ideal qualities of judicial candidates and perceptions of female and male candidates.
The results illustrate that voters grant ideal judicial candidates with masculine characteristics, partisan stereotypes tend to take priority over gender stereotypes when evaluating candidates, and women and Democrats support court composition diversity more than other groups. The data does not support the conclusion that voters regard the genders as more competent in stereotypically gendered policy areas.