Using about 6 million civil judgements during 2014-2018 in China, we document that gender disparities in litigation outcomes are present and prevalent. Exploiting an open justice reform where an increasing fraction of trials were broadcast online from courtrooms across China and using a generalized difference-in-differences approach, we find that female plaintiffs' disadvantage (relative to male plaintiffs) becomes smaller when reform is introduced and broadcast intensity is raised. Using a propensity score matched sample, we find that female plaintiffs' disadvantage is larger when male judges adjudicate and that male judges reduce the gender gap to a larger extent than female judges do in face of the reform. Further evidence shows that litigants' plausible behavioral changes during broadcasted trials cannot explain our findings. The evidence taken together suggests that taste-based discrimination may underlie our findings and affirmative action policies for judge gender diversity are warranted for women empowerment.
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