Gender Bias in Family Law at the
Court of Appeal Ontario 2007
Apr 2006, Revised Sept 2007
Part IV Representation
The database contained 245 cases where both litigants had a lawyer, and the sex of the litigants lawyers could be determined, and the winning party could be determined. Wins and losses have been based on judicial determinations of costs for represented parties and on issues for self represented parties because costs may be denied to self represented parties for other reasons. The data has been taken from appendix B1 to B13 and is reproduced as follows.
Male Representation
|
|
Total Cases |
% Hired |
Wins |
% Wins |
|
Male Lawyer |
201 |
82.2 |
43 |
21.3 |
|
Female Lawyer |
44 |
17.8 |
15 |
34.1 |
It can be concluded that a male has a ( 34.1 – 21.3 ) 12.8 % greater chance of winning if he hires a female lawyer than if he hires a male lawyer.
Female Representation
|
|
Total Cases |
% Hired |
Wins |
% Wins |
|
Male Lawyer |
158 |
64.5 |
113 |
71.5 |
|
Female Lawyer |
87 |
35.5 |
74 |
85.0 |
It can be concluded that a female has a ( 85.0 – 71.5 ) 13.6 % greater chance of winning if she hires a female lawyer than if she hires a male lawyer.
Male Wins
|
|
Female with a Male Lawyer Total cases |
Female with a Male Lawyer Total Wins |
Female with a Male Lawyer Percent Wins |
Female with a Female Lawyer Total Cases |
Female with a Female Lawyer Total Wins |
Female with a Female Lawyer Percent Wins |
|
Male with a MaleLawyer |
133 |
33 |
24.8 |
72 |
12 |
16.7 |
|
Male with a Female Lawyer |
25 |
9 |
36.0 |
15 |
5 |
33.3 |
Female Wins
|
|
Male with a Male Lawyer Total cases |
Male with a Male Lawyer Total Wins |
Male with a Male Lawyer Percent Wins |
Male with a Female Lawyer Total Cases |
Male with a Female Lawyer Total Wins |
Male with a Female Lawyer Percent Wins |
|
Female with a Male Lawyer |
133 |
100 |
75.2 |
25 |
16 |
68.0 |
|
Female with a Female Lawyer |
72 |
60 |
83.3 |
15 |
10 |
66.7 |
Discrimination Index Female with Female Lawyer v Male with Female Lawyer
DI = % Female Wins - % Male Wins = 66.7 – 33.3 = 33.4 %
Discrimination Index Female with Female Lawyer v Male with Male Lawyer
DI = % Female Wins - % Male Wins = 83.3 – 16.7 = 66.6 %
Discrimination Index Female with Male Lawyer v Male with Female Lawyer
DI = % Female Wins - % Male Wins = 68.0 – 36.0 = 32.0 %
Discrimination Index Female with Male Lawyer v Male with Male Lawyer
DI = % Female Wins - % Male Wins = 75.2 – 24.8 = 50.4
|
|
Female with a Male Lawyer |
Female with a Female Lawyer |
|
Male with a MaleLawyer |
50.4 |
66.6 |
|
Male with a Female Lawyer |
32.0 |
33.4 |
It can be concluded that a man has the best odds when he has a female lawyer and his former spouse has a male lawyer. A man has the worst odds when he has a male lawyer and his former spouse has a female lawyer.
Self Represented Litigants
The database contained 61 cases where a self represented litigant won or lost. In 17 cases both parties were self represented. It contained one case where both parties were self represented and it could not be determined who won or lost. The results are reproduced in the table below.
|
|
Total Cases |
Wins |
% Wins |
|
Male Litigant |
42 |
6 |
14.2 |
|
Female Litigant |
32 |
14 |
43.7 |
It can be concluded that a self represented female had a 43.7 % chance of winning and self represented male had a 14.2 % chance of winning
Discrimination Index = % Female Wins - % Male Wins = 43.7 – 14.2 = 29.5 %
Win ratio = % Female wins / % Male Wins = 43.7 / 14.2 = 3.1
The database contained 17 cases where a self represented litigant won or lost. It contained one case where both parties were self represented and it could not be determined who won or lost. The results are reproduced in the table below.
|
|
Total Cases |
Wins |
% Wins |
|
Male Litigant |
15 |
5 |
33.3 |
|
Female Litigant |
15 |
10 |
66.7 |
It can be concluded that when both former spouses are self represented the female wins 66.7 % of the time and the male wins 33.3 % of the time
Discrimination Index = % Female Wins - % Male Wins = 66.7 – 33.3 = 33.4 %
Win ratio = % Female wins / % Male Wins = 66.7 / 33.0 = 2.0
The database contained 44 cases where a self represented litigant was opposed by a lawyer The data is reproduced in the table below.
|
|
Total Cases |
Wins |
% Wins |
|
Male Litigant |
27 |
1 |
3.7 |
|
Female Litigant |
17 |
8 |
47.1 |
It can be concluded that when a self represented person faces a lawyer in court a female self represented party has a 47.1 % chance of winning and a male self represented parties have a 3.7 % chance of winning
Discrimination Index = % Female Wins - % Male Wins = 47.1 – 3.7 = 43.4 %
Win ratio = % Female wins / % Male Wins = 47.1/ 3.7 = 12.7
Self Represented Litigants vs Lawyers by Sex of Lawyer
|
|
Female Lawyer |
Male Lawyer |
|
Male Self Represented Litigants |
10 |
17 |
|
Male Wins |
0 |
1 |
|
Percent Male Wins |
0.0 |
5.8 |
|
Female Self Represented Litigants |
2 |
16 |
|
Female Wins |
0 |
8 |
|
Percent Female Wins |
0.0 |
50.0 |
It can be concluded that no self represented person has ever won against a female lawyer. Only 1 male self represented party has ever won at the Court of Appeal. One other self represented male had a partial win against a lawyer. When self represented women face a male lawyer they have a 50.0 % chance of winning and when a self represented male faces a male lawyer he stands a 5.8 % chance of winning
Discrimination Index Self represnted litigant v male Lawyer
DI = % Female Wins - % Male Wins = 50.0 – 5.8 = 44.2 %
Discrimination Index Self Represented Litigant v Female Lawyer
DI = % Female Wins - % Male Wins = 0.0 – 0.0 = 0.0 %
Summary of Representation Data Using Discrimination Indexes
|
|
Female with a Female Lawyer |
Female with a Male Lawyer |
Female Self Represented |
|
Male with a Female Lawyer |
33.4 |
32.0 |
- 100.0 |
|
Male with a Male Lawyer |
66.6 |
50.4 |
0.0 |
|
Male Self Represented |
100.0 |
88.4 |
33.4 |
It can be concluded that both men and women have the best chances if they hire a female lawyer. For self represented parties there is no chance of either sex winning when the opposing party is represented by a female lawyer which means 100 % discrimination against the self represented party. When a male with a male lawyer is opposed by a self represented female the male wins 50 % of the time so there is no discrimination. When a self represented male is opposed by a female with a male lawyer his odds are 5.8 % and her odds are 94.2 % producing a discrimination index of 88.4 %. And when 2 self represented parties are oppsed discrimination is 33.4 % against the man