Gender Inequality In Judicial Settings Perceived From Speech Style Evaluation

The present study addresses the unequal treatment in the judicial settings because of gender biases produced by speech style evaluation. It examines features of the language of lawyers and clients or defendants under the dominance and difference paradigms that are at the center of feminist theory. Talk characterized by dominance includes the control of discourse space, interruptions, topic control, and challenges. Features associated with a particular female "voice" include cooperative responses, affiliative requests, indirection, politeness, and the expression of emotion. Results show that women lawyer's talk is role bound rather than gender bound, with little difference between male lawyers and female lawyers. However, client's or defendant's speech is influenced by gender considerations, with both men and women clients or defendants expressing greater deference to men lawyers and women clients or defendants expressing cooperation and solidarity with all lawyers. In this article, the author applies sociolinguistic methods, particularly speech style evaluation, to assess the behavior of men and women clients or defendants toward the lawyers. This thesis seeks to discover whether women lawyers speaking in "different voice" as professionals are influenced by their gender. By comparing the contributions of role and gender with the linguistic behavior of the professionals and clients or defendants, the different treatment of the female and male clients or dendants in the judicial settings can be detected.