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Portia Hypothesis
The
Portia
Hypothesis
claims
women
with masculine-sounding
names
will be more
successful
in the
legal profession
than an
otherwise
identical
counterpart
. The
hypothesis
is named after
William Shakespeare's
character
from the
Merchant of
Venice
, who
disguises
herself as
a man
so she can
argue
as a
lawyer
.
Evidence
A study of
South Carolina
judges
by
Bentley Coffey
and
Patrick McLaughlin
found
evidence
supporting
the hypothesis.