Does Gender Blindness Improve Gender Equality? Female Judges and the Glass Ceiling Effect in the Islamic Judicial System in Indonesia

Abstract

Despite the increasing participation of women judges worldwide, including in Muslim countries, the glass ceiling effect in female judges’ careers remains persistent. Using the Islamic judicial system in Indonesia as a case study, this article aims to analyze the representation of female judges and examine why the glass ceiling effect exists in the Islamic judicial system in Indonesia. Drawing on interviews with twenty judges in various provinces in Indonesia and analyzing the gendered organization framework, this article argues that gender blindness in the Islamic judicial organization has contributed to the persistence of gender inequality and the glass ceiling effect. This article also argues that a gender-neutral setting contributes to sustaining or encouraging gendered practices within organizations. Furthermore, focusing on work-life balance as the only solution for addressing the under-representation of women in the public sphere does not necessarily ease them from caring responsibilities as the gendered division of labor in the domestic sphere has not changed. Therefore, we suggest that making the judicial system a gender transformative organization is essential in order to reduce the glass ceiling effect in the Islamic judicial system in Indonesia.