Rethinking Women’s Representation to Appointed Bodies: Who Is Replacing Whom?

The inclusion of women on appointed governing bodies is vital for political equality and legitimacy. Ample scholarship investigates when the first women are selected and what correlates with higher levels of women’s representation thereafter. But research on women’s presence on appointed bodies, such as high courts, overlooks the process through which women are consistently appointed through the replacement of departing officials, including men. We argue that focusing on replacements, instead of the first appointed woman, is necessary for explaining the repeated appointment of women over time. We advance a new conceptualization of three types of replacements (gendered status quo, gender backsliding, gender advances) that shape whether women’s representation on high courts is normalized. Using this new conceptualization, we analyze the replacement of approximately 2,000 judges in 81 countries and identify cases where women are consistently appointed to replace departing justices. This paper sets the stage for future research on why and how the appointment of women becomes normalized in certain contexts and not others. This study of how gender plays a role in the replacements of judges may also serve as a steppingstone for understanding how other historically marginalized groups can be better represented on high courts, as well as in other appointed governing bodies, such as cabinets.