Female vs. Male Experts: Who Has the Head Start With the Jury?

Old stereotypes die hard.  No one knows that more than a woman in a male-dominated field – including the law, although that is slowly changing.

We’re sure we’re not the only ones who have noticed male expert witnesses in litigation vastly outnumber female ones.  But is there any real reason for this?  Are there times when juries might receive men better and other times they might prefer women?

That’s the question two researchers – both women, we’d like to note – set out to answer in a recent study published by The Jury Expert, an American Society of Trial Consultants publication.

For better or worse, they found gender stereotypes are alive and well when it comes to how juries see expert witnesses – a conclusion you might want to consider when both selecting and presenting your experts.

For example, these researchers reviewed a previous study that found jurors viewed male experts as better witnesses when the case involved traditionally “masculine” fields such as construction or finance, whereas women were perceived as better witnesses in cases involving “feminine” areas such as children or sexual assault. 

Perhaps not surprisingly, jurors were harshest on witnesses – particularly women – who violated societal expectations of gender-based behavior.  One study found “unlikeable” female witnesses were judged more harshly than “unlikeable” men. 

From our perspective, it is worth considering these findings as you work up and prepare cases for trial.  We’d recommend ensuring male witnesses will come across as authoritative and direct rather than meek, and suggest to female witnesses they should avoid appearing unnecessarily combative (frankly, we believe male witnesses should also strive to be pleasant rather than confrontational).  

It is also worth considering the field in which your expert will be testifying – finding the most-qualified and personable expert available is always the goal, but there may be a disconnect for some jurors if you bring in a man to talk about a topic more associated with women, or vice versa.

Of course, the jurisdiction and make-up of your jury also matter.  A jury in a liberal area or with several younger, well-educated members may appreciate an assertive female witness, whereas it might not fly in a conservative area with a jury comprising older white men.  We’ve monitored trials in the past where the defense successfully appealed to young female jurors by having older female witnesses talk about the challenges they’ve overcome to get where they are.  As with all things in trial, context matters.

We’d like to think society is moving past gender-based stereotypes, but your client is paying you to win a case, not make the world a fairer place.  As long as those stereotypes exist and affect how jurors see witnesses, you’d do well to pay attention to them.

If you’d like our help in preparing a witness appeal to your jury, we’d love the opportunity.  Please contact Senior Vice President Claire Luna at cluna@juryimpact.net or 714.754.1010 to find out more about our witness preparation process and how we can help you evaluate how your expert will come across to jurors.