Women “doing” the judiciary: rethinking the justice argument for descriptive representation

Abstract

In this paper, we explore how political scientists can improve the study of gender diversity in the judiciary by drawing on the normative and theoretical literature on representation generally, and on descriptive representation specifically. In particular, we examine an undertheorized argument within the literature on descriptive representation, namely, the justice argument. Using Nancy Fraser's discussion of two justice frameworks, specifically, the recognition and redistribution frameworks, we argue that political scientists should evaluate the justice effects of a diverse judiciary usingmultipleconceptions of justice. In this way, we use normative theory to generate new research directions in the study of judicial diversity.