Leaks in the Judicial Pipeline: Evidence of a Gender Gap in Perceived Qualifications and Ambition for the Federal Bench

Despite decades of efforts to overcome a lack of diversity on the federal judicial bench, Article III judges remain unrepresentative of the general population and the legal profession. Building on evidence of a gender gap in confidence and ambition across a range of political and non-political contexts, we ask whether gendered aspects of the position and process discourage women from considering and pursuing vacancies on the U.S. district and circuit courts. Using a survey of over 500 legal professionals, we find that men and women self-assess their qualifications differently, particularly for circuit court positions. Similarly, women report lower levels of ambition for pursuing federal district and circuit court positions. However, there are no gender differences for reported steps towards pursuing a federal court position, nor in reported levels of encouragement from others to pursue these roles. These findings contribute to our understanding of the enduring underrepresentation of women on the federal bench and suggest that gendered socialization may be contributing to leaks in the judicial pipeline.