Gender Disparities in Sentencing: A Theoretical Approach

According to the US census, women make up roughly half of the population of the USA, yet they represent only a modest percentage of the country’s incarcerated population. Although this can be largely explained by the evidence that suggests women commit less crime than men, when exploring sentencing decisions of convicted defendants, research routinely concludes that convicted women are largely advantaged in the sentencing processes. Research further suggests that women tend to receive shorter sentences than their male counterparts when receiving a sentence of incarceration. This chapter will focus on two prominent theories often used to explain this disparity: focal concern perspective and familial paternalism theory. Both theories argue that gender differences in judicial sentencing are not simply gender leniency. Rather, both theories contend that judicial considerations based on an assessment of various defendant characteristics (legal and extralegal factors) help explain differential sentences found across genders.