COMMUNITY

International justice institutions play a central role in shaping international law, human rights protection, accountability, and global governance.

But who shapes international justice?

Women remain significantly underrepresented across many multilateral institutions, international and regional courts, tribunals, treaty bodies, and investigative mechanisms.This persistent imbalance raises concerns not only in terms of equality and non-discrimination, but also about the legitimacy, representativeness, and quality of justice delivered. 

At a moment when international institutions face increasing political pressure and scepticism, strengthening equality in decision-making is part of strengthening the institutions themselves.

Achieving gender parity in international decision-making is therefore, not only a matter of fairness. Parity is essential to building institutions that are more legitimate, more credible, and better equipped to respond to complex forms of injustice.

This is why this International Women’s Day we not only celebrate women’s individual and collective achievements and continuous pursuit of gender equality, we also recognise how women’s leadership contributes to stronger, more credible, and more responsive institutions that benefit all.

Across international courts and justice mechanisms, women have helped advance legal interpretations, reshape evidentiary and procedural standards, and expand the scope of who and what international law protects,  influencing areas ranging from human rights and international criminal law to due process, migration, freedom of expression, disability, reparations, and beyond.

Their presence has also contributed to institutional change from within: challenging assumptions embedded in historically male institutional cultures, developing maternity policies, creating special gender units, strengthening gender competence across institutions, shifting working methods, and expanding attention to forms of harm and structural discrimination that were previously sidelined.

Yet the pathways into these institutions remain shaped by structural barriers: state nomination processes, informal networks, credibility hierarchies, unequal working conditions, and intersecting forms of exclusion linked to geography, language, race, and social background.

To better understand these dynamics — and the transformative impact women have in international justice institutions — GQUAL and UN Women are launching a new report:

Based on 23 in-depth interviews with women judges, commissioners, mandate holders, and experts across international justice systems, the report provides rare insight into both the barriers women face in accessing these roles and the ways their leadership is reshaping legal reasoning, institutional cultures, and accountability outcomes.

At a moment of global uncertainty, strengthening international justice requires ensuring that women are not only present in these spaces — but shaping them.

📥 Download the report and explore the voices of the women shaping international justice today.