“You Reached Out to Me to Help”: Female Attorneys, Anti-Feminist Causes, and Their Effects on Symbolic Representation

Abstract Research shows that women’s inclusion in decision-making bodies that produce anti-feminist policies can legitimize policies and institutions. When a woman attorney advocates for an anti-feminist outcome in the judiciary, are the courts perceived as more legitimate than when a man makes the same argument? Using a survey experiment where 1,395 participants read about a sexual harassment case argued by a male or female attorney, we find that female attorneys increase the legitimacy of anti-feminist rulings in only one specific instance: when a female attorney represents an employer and wins, and only for female participants who are much less likely to perceive that process as procedurally legitimate in the first place. Our results demonstrate that while there are some instances where attorney gender can legitimize judicial behavior, the courts are different from legislatures, and deploying women to advocate for anti-women outcomes has little impact on feelings of court legitimacy broadly.