Today, Africa has the world’s largest number of women heading constitutional courts and acting as chief justices. This historic fact should play an important role in overcoming gender inequality broadly in society, but also specifically within the justice system. Women in justice in Africa is a comparative study of women judges in 14 countries, highlighting the remarkable contributions women make in the field of justice.

As part of the UNDP and UN Women Gender Justice Platform, this study is designed to promote the empowerment of women and advancement of gender equality in crisis and development contexts through specific action points. It chronicles evidence that women judges are less susceptible to corruption, and their effective representation in the judiciary increases public trust in the system.

The publication begins by contextualizing the purpose, background and methodology of the research, detailing the importance of women’s participation in the justice sector. It then delves into the comparative, quantitative data analysis and discusses noticeable trends across the 10 case studies in Africa. It proceeds by examining various barriers to women’s meaningful participation in the judiciary, including cultural, legal and institutional barriers to entry, retention and promotion.

The study also outlines the lessons learned and good practices identified on women’s meaningful judiciary participation. These lessons can help promote the equal and meaningful representation of women in judiciaries and in positions of leadership. It concludes by providing both general and specific recommendations aimed at addressing the underrepresentation of women in the judiciaries of the select African countries.