Sally J. Kenney is the Newcomb College endowed chair, the executive director of the Newcomb College Institute and a professor of political science at Tulane University. Her latest book is “Gender and Justice: Why Women in the Judiciary Really Matter” (New York: Routledge, 2013). She is a co-founder of the Infinity Project and advocates for a diverse and representative judiciary worldwide.
Egyptian feminists are well aware of the distinction between law on the books and law in action; the challenge is now to implement the constitutional mandate.
The Senate’s anti-filibuster vote in November does not guarantee that Obama will be able to appoint well-qualified women and minority men to the bench. Obstructionists are still up to their tricks and every bit of citizen involvement is needed.
Numerous areas of the U.S. are mired in judicial emergency, meaning the courts can’t keep up with the workload of justice. Some of Obama’s appointees who have waited the longest for confirmation are women. We must all demand the Senate give them an up or down vote.
Appointments of women to the federal bench declined dramatically under President Bush, and now two federal appeals courts are close to becoming all-male. Sally J. Kenney says the Infinity Project will push the Obama team to change course.
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