Chapter 3 asks where and why have women made the most strides on high courts? What factors help courts move beyond having one “woman’s seat”? This chapter draws on the authors’ dataset on the percentage and number of women on high courts. The chapter describes regional, cross-national, and time-serial variation in the gender composition of courts and identifies the courts which have achieved gender parity. Analyses reveal that both international and regional influences play a significant role in explaining women’s representation after the appointment of the first woman, more so than accountable selectors or economic development. Specifically, the analysis suggests that courts located in regions of the world where women are commonly included on courts, as well as those with a longer commitment to international law, have more women. Additionally, larger courts are more likely to have more women justices. The chapter also underscores how progress toward parity on courts is not linear, identifying those courts which reverted to being all-men after having appointed the first woman.
