Paul Caron asks that question in a post here. He observes that in the most recent SSRN rankings, 25% (5) of the faculty in the Top 25 downloads (both all-time and recent) are women, which is wonderful and encouraging. These lists include fabulous Feminist Law Profs Francine Lipman and Bridget Crawford.
Yet for those who think citations are a far better, if still imperfect, measure of scholarly impact, the picture is less encouraging. Of the “Most Cited Scholars in Tax Law Since 2000″as compiled by Brian Leiter, only one out of the nine “Most Cited” is a woman.
Some people post their articles at BePress, which reduces their SSRN download numbers. So it’s hard to know how meaningful SSRN rankings really are. But it is still nice to see women at the top of something in this profession.
–Ann Bartow
