Portia Hypothesis

The Portia Hypothesis claims women with masculine-sounding names will be more successful in the legal profession than an otherwise identical counterpart. The hypothesis is named after William Shakespeare's character from the Merchant of Venice,[1] who disguises herself as a man so she can argue as a lawyer.[2]

Evidence

A study of South Carolina judges by Bentley Coffey (Clemson University, Department of Economics) and Patrick McLaughlin (George Mason University, Mercatus Center) found evidence supporting the hypothesis.[3][4][5]

References
  1. Alter, Adam (29 May 2013). "The Power of Names". The New Yorker. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  2. Delistraty, Cody (30 July 2014). "Who Wins in the Name Game?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  3. Weiss, Debra (3 September 2009). "Female Lawyers with Masculine Names May Have a Better Shot at Judgeships". ABA Journal. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  4. Coffey, Bentley; McLaughlin, Patrick (4 August 2009). "Do Masculine Names Help Female Lawyers Become Judges? Evidence from South Carolina". American Law and Economics Review. 11 (1): 112–133. doi:10.1093/aler/ahp008.
  5. "Female lawyers with male names 'more successful'". The Telegraph. 2 November 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2018.


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