The recent death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has allowed us to reflect on her long and successful career. After looking at her impact on women and men everywhere, and reading about many influential civil rights cases she oversaw, here is a list of 10 defining moments from her career and personal life.
1. She was only one of nine women admitted into Harvard’s prestigious law school in 1956.
Ginsburg was a very well-educated woman, and after graduating from Cornell University in 1954 at the top of her class, she pursued her law education at Harvard.
2. She was the first female to ever be allowed to work on the Harvard Law Review.
This highly prestigious legal journal had never allowed a woman to work for them before, but Ginsburg’s success at Harvard proved that she was highly qualified and equipped to handle the position.
3. Ginsburg graduated from Columbia University Law School after transferring from Harvard in her final year to live in New York City, but yet had trouble finding a job.
Ginsburg was looked down upon and was heavily discriminated against for being a woman in law. Her first job only came after one of her professors demanded she was hired before any other Columbia student was recommended for work.
4. She founded the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project in 1972.
After facing gender-discrimination at Harvard and Columbia, Ginsburg knew that advocacy was needed for women. Inspired by Pauli Murray and Dorothy Kenyon, two women who had previously worked with the ACLU to advocate for women’s rights, Ginsburg founded the Women’s Rights Project to look only and specifically at women’s rights issues.
5. She taught at Columbia University for many years and became the first female professor to ever earn tenure at Columbia.
She managed to teach while also working at the ACLU, which were two very important career positions.
6. She was the second woman to ever be appointed to the Supreme Court.
Nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1993, she joined Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to ever be appointed to the Supreme Court. Only four women have ever been Supreme Court Justices, and Ginsburg helped pave the way for the other two women in the following years.
7. She oversaw the monumental Supreme Court case: United States v. Virginia.
In 1996, the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) was the only higher-education, male-only school in America. The VMI was sued by the United States for violating the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause that outlawed discrimination based on the premise of sex. In a seven to one ruling, Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion that stated that the VMI’s admissions policy violated the 14th Amendment. Her majority opinion statement was so highly regarded that it was looked at as an address not only to the court system but to the American people as well.
8. In Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (2007), Ginsburg advocated for equal pay for men and women working in the same position.
After a long-time employee of Goodyear Tire, Lily Ledbetter realized she was being paid significantly less than her male co-workers, so she sued the company and the case went up to the Supreme Court. Although she lost the case, Ginsburg wrote a very strong dissenting opinion calling for equal pay between the sexes and brought attention to the very prevalent issue of wage discrimination — discrimination that she had personally faced during her legal career.
9. She helped to legalize same-sex marriage in 2014 in the monumental civil rights case Obergefell v. Hodges.
In the five to four majority ruling (that Ginsburg sided with), it was decided that not allowing or recognizing couples of the same sex violated the due process clause outlined in the 14th Amendment.
10. A fun fact about Ginsburg is that her talents were not just limited to law and the courts.
She was an avid exercise enthusiast as well. Ginsburg had a personal trainer and loved to work out in the Supreme Court gym and participate in exercise routines. She even had a website, rbgworkout.com, so people could participate and try the same workouts that Ginsburg did at home.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a powerful woman and role-model who overcame many obstacles in her career. She was a major advocate for women’s and human rights, and although she may be gone, may her impact never be forgotten.
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