Marcelle Ragazoni Carvalho Ferreira

Marcelle Ragazoni Carvalho Ferreira is a federal judge in Brazil, serving on the Federal Small Claims Appellate Court, which handles cases concerning the granting of social security and welfare benefits to vulnerable populations in Brazil.

As a federal judge, Marcelle served as President of the Association of Federal Judges of the States of São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul (AJUFESP). She was elected as the first woman to preside over the institution and was a founding member of the Women’s Commission of AJUFE (Brazilian Association of Federal Judges). The work of the AJUFE Women’s Commission brought together female judges to promote gender equality and conducted pioneering research on gender diversity within the Brazilian Judiciary.

In the academic field, her work is closely connected to Human Rights, particularly her Master’s thesis entitled Regulation of Public Services as an Instrument for the Realization of Human Rights from the Perspective of Humanist Capitalism.

Marcelle also wrote the article Interpretation of Social Security Law and the Granting of Social Benefits to Vulnerable Populations in Brazil: Judgments from a Gender Perspective, for the commemorative book marking the 20th anniversary of the Federal Small Claims Courts.

Her research at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights aims to explore more deeply why gender inequality persists within the Judiciary and the impact it has on judicial decision-making. It also seeks to demonstrate how greater diversity within the Judiciary can positively affect the resolution of social conflicts and enhance the legitimacy of judicial decisions.