Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

Gender bias in today's court system to be examined by Washington Supreme Court Gender and Justice Commission

The degree to which gender affects justice in Washington today will be examined in depth by the Washington Supreme Court Gender and Justice Commission, which received a national grant to help fund the study.

The Gender and Justice Commission was awarded $150,000 by the State Justice Institute, and will match the grant with another $150,000, to conduct a modern examination of gender impacts on justice with a particular focus on how race and poverty impact women when they access the courts, participate in proceedings, or work in the court environment, as well as the consequences they experience once they leave the courthouse. The Commission will engage the help of the National Center for State Courts to complete the research.

A ground-breaking Washington state study in 1989 found significant gender impacts in a number of justice areas — treatment of domestic violence victims, rape victims and women lawyers and judges — and launched establishment of the G&J Commission in 1994 to address the serious, systemic problems discovered.

The new study will review the recommendations of the 1989 study and the effectiveness of steps taken to meet those recommendations and address those problems. The Commission also plans to use information gained from the new study to develop pilot projects addressing specific areas of gender bias that are identified.

“We are very excited about this grant and breaking ground in new areas of research on how gender impacts justice,” said Washington Supreme Court Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud, chair of the Gender and Justice Commission. “We will be using an evidence-based research model to look at the status of women in the courts with a particular focus on the women most often overlooked, that is, women of color and women in poverty.”

Members of the G&J Commission have worked for more than 18 months laying groundwork for the research, identifying new potential areas of study and connecting with other justice entities interested in supporting the project.

“Recent public awareness regarding the extent to which gender bias and sexual harassment remain significant issues in the workplace make the timing of the study appropriate and necessary,” the Commission said in its grant proposal to the State Justice Institute. “Both the national Conference of Chief Justices and national Conference of State Court Administrators have expressed renewed interest in addressing gender bias in the courts.”

The work of the study, including some pilot project implementations and monitoring and a final report, is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.

The Washington State Gender and Justice Commission was established by the state Supreme Court in 1994 to identify measures for preventing gender bias in the courts. The Commission followed the work of the Gender and Justice Task Force, created by the Supreme Court in 1988 to thoroughly research and identify specific gender bias in the judicial system, and to develop recommendations for addressing it.

CONTACT: Washington Supreme Court Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud, Chair, Gender and Justice Commission, (360) 357-2046; Cynthia Delostrinos, Administrative Manager for Supreme Court Commissions,(360)705-5327, Cynthia.Delostrinos@courts.wa.gov.