Ruth Badger Ginsburg - An icon

Anna Malakhouskaya | November 13th, 2020

As a woman who is interested in a future career in law, women like Ruth Badger Ginsburg (RBG) have always been the gold standard of what is possible for me. At the time of her death in September 2020, Ruth Badger Ginsburg was one of four women and the first Jewish woman to have ever been given the honour to have a seat in the US Supreme Court (1). Yet why is RBG the most well-known of those four women? Why is she loved by so many? Why was she the first woman to lie in state — a rare honour granted to certain US officials to have their caskets placed in front of the United States Capitol in Washington DC for public viewing (2)? One of the main reasons RBG was loved and respected by a large number of people is a result of her lifelong fight to include women under the Equal Protection Clause of the US Constitution. Throughout her career, RBG fought and won cases in front of the Supreme Court to give women equal protection under the eyes of the law. She spent most of her legal career as a fierce advocate for gender equality and women’s rights. RBG is credited with inspiring the Lilly Ledbetter fair play act which was signed into law by Obama in 2009, making it easier for employees to win pay discrimination claims (3).

Her time on the Court solidified to the world that women could and would hold high positions within government despite those same institutions being built to oppress them. It showed that women were powerful and that no field was beyond a woman's grasp. That message resonated with the millions of young women who have long been told that law is not a women’s arena. RBG’s work gave women around the world a chance to be part of the changes within their legal systems.

However, it would be naive to say that RBG solved gender discrimination as there is still so much work to be done, but to me, and a lot of young women, RBG gave us a voice. Women have long been overlooked, underestimated, and denied opportunities on the basis of their gender. One notable moment in RBG’s life that highlights these inequalities between men and women in the legal field is when Ruth Badger Ginsburg graduated joint top of her class at Columbia Law School, and yet, she was denied a clerkship with Justice Felix Frankfurter of the Supreme Court due to her gender (4). Despite this blatant discrimination, RBG worked her way up to become a law school professor, teaching civil procedure as one of a few women across America in this field. For a woman of her calibre to be refused opportunities goes to show the deeply rooted sexism that still exists within the legal profession. The system remains flawed, women continue to be belittled and discouraged from having a place in the legal field, however, RBG’s work has allowed young women, in the same position as many of our readers, to have a fighting chance of doing what we love.

Myself, being a woman wanting to study law, cannot eloquently put into words how RBG has influenced my relationship with the law. Gender discrimination in every field has always been a problem women face in silence because it was not at the forefront of people’s minds; it is just the way it has always been. But RBG was one of many women who did not accept the fate that had been forced upon them by misogynistic institutions, rather they pushed boundaries and placed the fight for gender equality on center stage. Gender equality around the world was given a platform because of RBG’s efforts. More women will be given the chance to have autonomy over their lives and the gravity of that impact cannot ever be fully quantified.

RBG is not without her flaws, following her death, many of her law clerks were present at her funeral and the lack of racial diversity amongst them became a major point of contention. In her 27 year tenure in the US Supreme Court, only 1 black clerk was hired meaning that “only 0.6% of her hires were Black” (5). This lack of minority representation throughout a well-known liberal justice's tenure shows that much more progress is needed to level the playing field within the legal field. Nevertheless, this does not erase all she has done for feminism and gender equality. Ruth Badger Ginsburg's legacy will live on in the hearts of women around the world who have been given the opportunity to be part of the institutions that once saw to exclude them. Her efforts live on through all the lives that she has saved through her legislation and Supreme Court rulings. Until the day she died, RBG fought for women’s freedom and gender equality. She fought to give women the chance to break down the barriers that have been set up for them and to continue to push past what is expected of them.

Endnotes

1. "Ruth Bader Ginsburg," Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, last modified February 19, 2003, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg.

2. "Lying in State," Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, last modified September 6, 2004, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lying_in_state#United_States.

3. "Ruth Bader Ginsburg," Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, last modified February 19, 2003, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg.

4. "Ruth Bader Ginsburg," Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, last modified February 19, 2003, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg.

5. Moya L. McLean, "People Are Pointing out Something 'troubling' About a Photo from RBG's Memorial," Indy100, last modified September 25, 2020, https://www.indy100.com/article/ruth-bader-ginsburg-memorial-clerks-black-hiring-supreme-court-9714436.