I did not know much about Ruth Bader Ginsburg until my junior year of high school, when the film On the Basis of Sex was released and my United States history teacher encouraged our class to see it. I had heard Ginsburg’s name through various news briefings, as she was one of only nine Supreme Court justices presiding over our country’s largest decisions. Still, I was not familiar with her background or what she was particularly passionate about. I was intrigued by the story of one woman’s path to the Supreme Court, though, so I went to see the film one weekend with a few friends. It wasn’t long before I began to understand the power of Ginsburg and her voice in the fight for equal rights.
Throughout the film, Ruth is faced with a multitude of challenges due to her gender. When the film begins, Ruth is a first-year student at Harvard Law School in the sixth year that women are able to earn a Harvard law degree. She is also married and has a daughter. Although she is intelligent, Ruth’s ability to advance in the law field is inhibited by outdated and false beliefs about women, which make her fight for equality frustrating. When applying for a job as a lawyer, she relays the sexist responses she has received: directions to the secretarial pool, assumptions that women are too emotional to be lawyers, questions surrounding when she would have her next baby, concerns about the jealousy of lawyer’s wives and more. Even though she cannot find a job practicing law, she becomes a professor at Rutgers, and through this vessel she begins to discuss gender discrimination and the law with her students.
Despite personal setbacks, it is Ruth’s drive for change that is so inspiring. During her time as a law professor, her husband Martin Ginsburg, a tax attorney, passes along a case to her in which a man is denied a caregiver tax deduction because it is only available to women. Ruth influences the Court by encouraging them to set a new precedent for gender equality in the law. She inspires them to create a better and more equal world for their children and future generations by acknowledging that the laws made and precedents set many years ago surrounding gender no longer fit the new America. Through her defense of Charlie Moritz, the Court is able to see how setting a precedent for gender equality today benefits both genders and society as a whole. Ultimately, Ruth wins the case and goes on to be nominated to the Supreme Court by a vote of 97-3.
I walked away from this film with a strong appreciation for Ruth Bader Ginsburg and a much better understanding of the importance of purpose. It is difficult and frustrating to face rejection and criticism in your pursuits. What allows you to persevere, and what drove Ruth to become a champion of equal rights, is a fervent belief in the value of what you are doing. On the Basis of Sex and Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s enduring legacy reminds me to strive for something worth fighting for.
