Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo called on women judges in the country to lead and transform the region, and make a more inclusive, accepting, and sensitive world.

This was the call of CJ Gesmundo, as he spoke at the International Association of Women Judges Regional Conference in Asia and the Pacific which was held at Fili Hotel at Nustar Resort, Cebu City on 8 May 2024.

"I wish you all continued strength, courage, and resolve as you look to lead, and transform our region, and make the world more inclusive, more accepting, and more sensitive," said Gesmundo, as he went on his speech.

"Allow me also to thank and congratulate the PWJA, led by its President, Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier and Executive Vice President, Justice Maria Filomena Singh, my esteemed colleagues in the Court for hosting this annual regional meeting," he added.

He said, "Speaking to just one woman can be a challenge in itself, so to speak to 400+ women, all judges at that, could prove intimidating even to a Chief Justice. Fortunately, I have had a lot of practice speaking to diverse audiences across our country, always mostly made up of women. I am sure you have noticed it too, more and more women are taking up active roles in society."

Gesmundo observed that even in law schools, females outnumber males, making him think with this trend, more women should be appointed as judges.

He said a study commissioned on Gender Representation and Mobility in the Philippine Judiciary proved that women judges now outnumber male judges in the trial courts.

The ratio in our tertiary courts is not far behind.

But more than the numbers, what really matters is the unique perspective that a woman judge brings to the bench, and I am a personal witness to that with my two colleagues, who are your hosts today, Justices Javier and Singh.

We read the same records and view the same facts, but they always manage to see something other than what I see.

And this is not unique to them.

This is something shared by all," said Gesmundo.

The SC in recognition of this women empowerment, and in keeping with the commitment to gender equality and inclusion, made gender initiatives a key pillar of our Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 or the SPJI which is the blueprint for top-to-bottom, system-wide operational and institutional reforms aimed at bringing about an efficient and effective judiciary that delivers justice in real-time.

It is aimed at three target outcomes: Efficiency, Innovation, and Access.

A particular point of emphasis under Access is ensuring Gender Fairness and Inclusivity, because access to justice must be equal for all in every aspect.

Included in the said program is the Guidelines on the Use of Gender-Fair Language in the Judiciary and Gender-Fair Courtroom Etiquette to deepen sensitivity to all gender orientations and identities, reduce discriminatory stereotypes in both language and conduct, and foster a more inclusive environment in our courts and proceedings.

Other key initiatives involve a couple of studies on gender in the judiciary, including the Study on Gender Mobility and Representation in the Philippine Judiciary, which looked at gender-disaggregated data over almost 15 years to examine patterns of appointments across all court levels and identify barriers to women's representation.

"We also had the Study on Feminism in Philippine Jurisprudence, which catalogued and reviewed 15 years' worth of Supreme Court decisions across key issue areas with the goal of critically evaluating judicial reasoning to identify the areas that need deeper understanding or that need correction in order to overcome biases, inequalities," he ended.