In this news release, https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news16_e/disp_21jun16_e.htm, the WTO announces that it has just appointed its 100th female dispute settlement panelist and compares itself favorably with other international tribunals, stating "[t]he WTO's dispute settlement system has fared somewhat better. Of the 209 WTO panels composed since 1995, 90 have included women panelists, representing about 43 per cent of the total panelists." Unfortunately, that math is clearly incorrect. The WTO data instead reflects that 43 percent of the panels have included at least one woman. However, with the 100th female panelist just appointed, there have been 100 female panelists and 527 male panelists (assuming all panels have had three members), which works out to women representing about 16 percent of the total, not 43 percent. The data is a bit worse when one takes into account the fact that some panelists have served more than once. The WTO's own data, accessible by clicking "here" at the end of the press release, indicates that "[o]f the 277 individuals selected to serve as panelists since 1995, 39, or approximately 14 per cent of them, were women." Worldtradelaw.net tracks this data as well: http://www.worldtradelaw.net/databases/panelistgender1.php. Their charts reflect that in 2009 there were no female panelists at all, and in 2015 only 2 out of 24 panelists were women. So while it is true the WTO does a bit better than some other international tribunals, I'm not convinced this self-congratulatory announcement was warranted.
