Affect Theory, the Perceived Impact of Judicial Diversity, and the Gender Pay Gap in the Irish Legal Profession

This chapter investigates how affect theory can be used as a framework when examining judicial diversity, along with how affect theory can be used to help explore the impact of increasing gender diversity on the Irish bench. This chapter will first examine the current gender pay gap in the Irish legal profession and the status of women in Ireland throughout the 20th century, recount the women’s movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and discuss the appointment of the first women judges to Irish courts. Affect theory will then be explored, including how affect theory can be applied as a framework when considering women judges and the gender pay gap in the Irish legal profession.