Manila (Philippines), 30 July 2024 — In the quest for a fair and equitable society, addressing gender stereotypes in the judiciary is crucial. The judiciary, as a pillar of justice, must reflect the principles of equality and impartiality. However, ingrained patriarchal norms and gender biases and discrimination often infiltrate the judicial process, undermining its integrity and fairness.
“Avoiding stereotypes in the judiciary is still challenging,” says Philippines Justice Maria Theresa Mendoza-Arcega. “Shifting the paradigm on gender norms is difficult considering that the centuries old patriarchal culture is embedded in us. Anyone in the judiciary, even judges, can be victims of gender stereotypes. Likewise, women judges continuously endeavour for empowerment.”
Inequality in the judiciary is still the reality. Despite some strides made in addressing it and bridging the gap, there are numerous examples of gender bias in decision-making, adjudication and within the judicial system in the Philippines.
“There are court decisions that undermined gender equality and accentuated the outmoded perception of patriarchy,” said Justice Mendoza-Arcega, Associate Justice of the Sandiganbayan, a special court in the Philippines that has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving graft and corrupt practices and such other offences committed by public officials and employees.
“For instance, one decision stated that it is extremely hard to believe that a girl already of sufficient discretion, being already 18 years of age, would even entertain an offer of love from a man she knows to be married.”
“Sexist language is also commonly used in court proceedings,” says Justice Mendoza-Arcega, though there are instances now where the Supreme Court has reminded the bench and the bar to abide by the Guidelines on the Use of Gender-Fair Language in the Judiciary and Gender-Fair Courtroom Etiquette.
Another challenge that still needs to be addressed is on the aspect of female representation in the judiciary. There is still a significant disparity in the number of male and female judges and as the judicial position becomes more senior, female representation declines even more.
“This greatly affects gender balance and mobility within the judiciary. There is a need to increase the representation of women judges as this will bring balance in the power struggle,” she said.
While the challenges are many, in recent decades courts in the Philippines have been evolving towards a more gender inclusive framework. “The judiciary recently came up with a blueprint known as the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJI), which covers the top-to-bottom, system-wide operational and institutional reforms aimed at bringing about an efficient and effective judiciary that delivers justice in real-time. SPJI is aimed at three target outcomes: Efficiency, Innovation, and Access. It is under “Access” that we aim to ensure gender fairness and inclusivity—because access to justice must be equal for all in every aspect,” notes Justice Mendoza-Arcega.
“Thanks to the continuous efforts of gender equality advocates and women empowerment groups, there has been significant changes toward the elimination of gender stereotyping and discrimination within the judiciary. The Sandiganbayan, for one, has been consistently implementing a safe, gender-fair and disability-inclusive environment both for its employees and its stakeholders. I have also observed that women judges in the Philippines now outnumber their male counterparts in trial courts,” she says.
To further empower and raise the visibility of women within the judiciary, the Philippine Women Judges Association has launched the “HerStory Award” for Justices and Judges, a contest that aims to showcase women judges with unconventional but inspiring career paths. Through the HerStory Award, the spotlight will be shifted to women judges from rural districts, recognizing that they may be more overlooked in promotion decisions.
Justice Mendoza-Arcega also credits the efforts of the Sandiganbayan Committee on Gender-Responsiveness for making institutional changes towards gender mainstreaming a top priority since she was appointed in 2016. Illustrating the importance of institutionalizing access to equality, she notes that pursuant to the enactment of the Safe Spaces Act, the Sandiganbayan was able to institutionalize the Sandiganbayan Committee on Decorum and Investigation and create its corresponding Internal Rules of Procedure. This has ensured that over the past five years, the Sandiganbayan has been consistently compliant with the Philippine Commission on Women’s requirements.
“Another example of the Courts’ efforts to provide justice to women is the creation of the Toolkit on Sextortion. This joint project of the Philippine Women Judges Association, International Association of Women Judges, and MDG3 Fund Netherlands raises awareness on sextortion and gives the users of the toolkit the necessary procedural knowhow in handling sextortion cases,” explained Justice Mendoza-Arcega. “It is our earnest hope to further empower women and ensure gender equality and inclusion within the judicial system.”
Justice Mendoza-Arcega heads the Committee on Gender Responsiveness of Sandiganbayan and is the Vice-Chair of the Supreme Court’s Committee on Gender Responsiveness in the Judiciary. She is a recipient of several awards and recognition, foremost of which are the 2002 Award for Judicial Excellence, Gawad Bunying Abogadong Bulakenyo, for five times, given by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines – Bulakan Chapter, and the 2015 Ulirang Ina Award. She is an active officer of the Philippine Women Judges Association and twice elected Regional Director of Asia Pacific of the International Association of Women Judges, among other organizations.
In 2024, Justice Mendoza-Arcega became one of the mentees in UNODC’s mentorship programme Empowering Women in Justice / for Justice: A Mentorship Programme for Women Professionals in Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement and the Judiciary, which aims to empower and advance women serving in judicial and law enforcement institutions, fostering their professional growth and leadership potential. The programme was launched in March 2024 on the third International Day of Women Judges under the umbrella of UNODC’s Women in Justice / for Justice initiative.
Click here to learn about about Filipino women’s recommendations for gender-related judicial integrity issues.
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