Investigating Gender Bias: Law, Courts, and the Legal Profession

Charlotte Neff is an associate professor of law and justice at
Laurentian University and co-author of The Annotated Competition Act
1992.

Investigating Gender Bias is about how to study gender bias in the
law—methodological problems of framing the issue and collecting the
data—rather than about the nature of that bias. The book notes that
most prior studies were by lawyers with little background in social
science research methods. Thus, for example, studies might identify
examples of bias through a survey of files without documenting the
number of files in which no bias was identified. On the other hand, the
point is made that such research should not be conducted solely by
social scientists either—collaboration is required. The papers, by
leading Canadian female researchers, were originally presented at a
“Research Consultation” attended by legal academics, social
scientists, lawyers, judges, and others. They are divided into two main
groups: General Methodological Issues and Substantive Areas of the Law.
The book is aimed at academics, both with respect to its objective of
framing the nature of research to be done and in the presentation of the
material. All chapters are extensively footnoted, some include a list of
references, and there is a detailed classified bibliography. As a
historian, I have a small quibble with the latter: it offers no separate
history heading.

Although purportedly about establishing methods for identifying gender
bias, this volume nevertheless makes an explicit assumption that gender
bias exists. The purpose of more rigorous research strategies is to be
able to respond better to critics, rather than to discover anything they
do not allegedly already know. Furthermore, one of the objectives of the
research project is “to develop strategies for the elimination of such
bias” (i.e., the bias yet to be proved through rigorous social science
research). Given the academic orientation of the book, one might have
hoped for a more objective approach. Truth can be discovered only
through open-minded research, which surely is the point of all social
science research.