Women on the Bench in Guatemala: Between Professionalization and State Capture

This article focuses on the experiences of women judges in Guatemala, a fragile, post-conflict states where external pressures and informal networks continue to limit judges’ autonomy despite rule-of-law reforms to increase judicial independence. Qualitative research involving interviews, and life histories with a random sample of 25 women judges carried out in 2019 revealed that professionalization of the judicial career and the creation of specialized courts opened space for women on the bench. However, gender discrimination persists, and the insecurity faced by all judges has particularly gendered manifestations. We conclude that political capture of the judiciary does not necessarily prejudice women’s participation on the bench but does dissuade human rights and anti-corruption oriented female judges from pursuing their careers. Our analysis of women’s experience in accessing the bench and working as judges in Guatemala adds to debates on judicial independence and explores the gendered ways in which processes of state capture play out in post-conflict fragile states.