Breaking Barriers: Exploring the Impact of the Glass Ceiling Index on Female Representation in the Judiciary

This study seeks to answer the question of whether there are barriers to women in the judiciary and to examine the relationship between the glass ceiling index and representation rates of female judges with a view to revealing whether the barriers observed in the judiciary are sector-specific. The study examines the glass ceiling index scores published in ‘The Economist’ for OECD countries between 2010- 2020 and the representation rates of female judges in courts for the same years. The panel data method was used to reveal this relationship. The glass ceiling index had a negative coefficient and was statistically significant at a significance level of 1 percent for first instance courts. The probability values obtained from the models applied to test the relationship between the glass ceiling index and the representation rates of female judges in courts of second instance and supreme courts showed no statistically significant relationship between the variables. This study differs from the literature in that it establishes a relationship between the barriers to women in the public and private sectors and the barriers to women in the judiciary across countries, thus seeking an answer to the question of whether or not the barriers in the judiciary are sector-specific.