Men are 3.4 times more likely than women to be sent to prison for the same crime, men receive sentences which are 1.64 times longer than womens for the same crime.
ChatGPT seems to be reproducing from these paper, among others. Some interesting analyses of specific offences. The 2nd link is about the Crown Court setting which will reflect more serious sentencing possibilities.
Based on the gender effect estimated in these models we can now establish that, for offences of assault, male offenders are 2.84 times more likely to receive a custodial sentence than female offenders. This is the gender effect estimated when the same offence is committed, featuring the same harm, culpability, aggravating and mitigating factors, whether a guilty plea was entered at first opportunity, and having - approximately - the same number of previous convictions. For offences of burglary and drugs the odds ratios were 1.89, and 2.72 for drugs.
There is some discussion about disparities and whether these have utilitarian value (are women less likely to pose a threat to society).
Lastly, from a retributive perspective, the observed disparities might be justified on the basis of the higher harm experienced by women in and after custody. While in prison women are nearly twice as likely as men to be identified as suffering from depression (Player, 2014) and five times more likely to self-harm (Corston, 2007; MoJ, 2018). This is likely exacerbated by the existence of fewer female prisons makes it more likely for female offenders to be housed further away from home, which renders visits more difficult, making it harder to maintain ties and facilitate resettlement into community. Half of all women receive no visits compared to a quarter of men, and most women have neither a home or a job upon release (Player, 2014). Lastly, a more merciful approach that takes into account the generally more troubled past of female offenders could also be legitimately invoked as part of retributive considerations. For example, approximately 70% of women coming into custody require clinical detoxification compared to 50% of men. (Corston, 2007), while twice as many women in prison report having experienced emotional, physical or sexual abuse as a child compared to men (Minson, 2015). In summary, we believe that the estimated gender disparities can be justified in terms of the higher harm produced to women, and, more partially, for reasons of offender rehabilitation and dangerousness. As such, our findings should not be interpreted as evidence of discrimination against male offenders. Having said that, if we take into consideration the non-negligible extent of the disparities detected, our findings should also refute the widely held belief of sentencing in England and Wales being gender neutral.
As ever, there's a need for much better data. I could use some specificity about relative numbers of offenders for the offences explored and whether or not there are 'gendered' offences where dominate the offender category. E.g., sex work.
https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/209890205/Gender_gap.pdf
https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/154388/14/Gender%20Discrimination_23%20August.pdf