Yes. I did indeed mean more equality

@MistyCee Hi Misty.

Here's what I did find. The following for the possible reasons why this may taking place. The quotes are taken from different studies/articles and separated by paragraphs:

Some justify lenient sentencing because women’s rates of recidivism (re-offending) are lower. This is true, but older people, white people, and more educated people also have lower recidivism rates. Should we sentence them more leniently? Perhaps not send whites or college educated people to jail at all? Also, as noted by a report from the United States Sentencing Commission (“Recidivism Among Federal Offenders: A Comprehensive Overview”—the source of the image below), these rates don’t take into account crime severity. If women or white people on average commit less serious crimes then it’s not unexpected that their recidivism rates would be lower. It doesn’t mean they should get more lenient sentences for the same crimes (and same criminal history, etc.).

After estimating the amount of disparity left unexplained by the arrest offense and other control variables, the paper explores "why these gaps exist—and, in particular, whether unobserved differences between men and women might justify them." Prof. Starr explores several potential mitigating factors, such as the "girlfriend theory" (that "[w]omen might be viewed as…mere accessories of their male romantic partners"), the role of women as primary caregivers to their children, and the "theory that female defendants receive leniency because they are more cooperative with the government." Although each of these theories found some support in the data, they did not appear capable of explaining anything close to the total disparity that Prof. Starr found.

A 2009 study suggested the difference in sentencing might arise because "judges treat women more leniently for practical reasons, such as their greater caretaking responsibility."


Gertner said that judges might be particularly sensitive to the consideration that sending parents away is bad for public safety: “We know as a public-safety measure that (in) families that have been fractured by imprisonment, there’s actually a risk to the next generation.” Gertner and Berman said they believe judges are taking into account women’s family obligations despite the guidelines’ opposition to doing so — and that helps explain women’s shorter sentences. 2

A 1997 study in the UK interviewed 200 magistrates (judges), finding that they tended to see offenders either as troubled (needing help) or troublesome (needing punishment). It was exceptional for women to be seen as the latter. Some of their explanations might be justified by the individual cases (e.g. they reported that women more often shoplift to feed their children), but much of the categorization was clearly based on assumptions, stereotypes, or emotional responses rather than the facts of the case.

For example, multiple magistrates reported assuming that, with multiple offenders, the man was the leader and the woman was vulnerable and more like a victim herself. And some of the female magistrates accused their male colleagues of too quickly believing female defendants, with the implication that it was because of attractiveness. Many magistrates also brought up that solicitors (lawyers) often emphasized old-fashioned cultural stereotypes of women to gain sympathy. One magistrate commented “you really wonder how the innocent-looking young lady in front of you, who’s obviously been told by her solicitor to look as helpless as possible, could possibly have undertaken the violent elements that are there”. In addition, female defendants more often appeared in court as nervous or tearful, which often elicited sympathy.
Study: “Magistrates’ explanations of sentencing decisions” by Loraine Gelsthorpe and Nancy Loucks (Part 2 of “Understanding the sentencing of women”)

This is what i found on recidivism stats.