Ruth Bader Ginsburg - A Force of Nature in Women’s Rights and Gender Equality

Blog Post by Natasha Strauss

March 2022

As Women’s History Month comes to an end, I would like to highlight one of the most inspiring women in recent history.

My name is Natasha Strauss and I am a sophomore at Palo Alto High School and I joined the Project Glimmer Ambassador Program to bring joy and empowerment to girls across the nation. I admire Ruth Bader Ginsburg because she is an icon of equal rights, and a woman whose aspirations motivate me today. She was a force of nature in women’s rights, an advocate for anti-discrimination, and a role model for many women all around the world. She leaves behind a legacy of embracing womanhood, taking ownership of the future, and overcoming all obstacles, even in seemingly impossible situations.

Ginsburg, formerly Joan Ruth Bader, was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1933. After graduating high school, Ginsburg was accepted as one of a few girls to Cornell University, then graduating first in her class. Ginsburg later resumed her education at Harvard Law School. Ginsburg faced many hardships while studying at Harvard as she was one of only nine girls attending Harvard, and faced much gender based discrimination. Also, her husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer, she tackled the challenge of motherhood, all while attending school. None of these seemingly career-ending impediments slowed Ginsburg down though. She maintained her position at the top of her class and became the first woman to join the Harvard Law Review. Her drive and passion for the law is an inspiration to me, as is the discipline that allowed her to push through the difficult periods of her life.

Ginsburg transferred to Columbia University to be with her husband in her last year of law school, served on the Columbia Law Review, and graduated first in her class. Within her first 26 years of life, she’d already made a considerable impact on the world and how women were perceived in university and law school. She remains a perfect example of overcoming adversity to pursue one’s passion, and preached that to all of the young women she encountered. At a Harvard University Luncheon, when asked what advice she would give to young women, Ginsburg responded, “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you” (Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study).

“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.”

Between her graduation from law school and her passing, Ruth Bader Ginsburg made great strides for women’s equality and gender rights. After graduating and struggling to find a job due to her gender, Ginsburg directed the influential Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. In this position she led the fight against gender discrimination, successfully arguing six landmark cases before the United States Supreme Court.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a feminist icon, and a strong force in gender equality and women’s rights. She served as a Justice on the United States Supreme Court for 27 years, being the second woman to serve as a Supreme Court Justice, until her passing in September of 2020. To me, Ginsburg lives on as an inspiration for equality. She was passionate about gender rights, giving everyone the same resources, and stopping discrimination. To this day, her memory and monumental work lives on as her inspiring legacy to girls all over the world.

In light of her passing, we must acknowledge the impact that Ruth Bader Ginsburg has had on our society, and remember the important steps that she made in arguing for gender equality. Looking back, she has been an influential figure in fighting sex-discrimination, but even more monumentous is the legacy that she leaves behind. From her, I have learned that no matter how difficult your situation, no matter how harsh the criticism, you can pursue your aspirations, and more importantly, you can obliterate everyone’s expectations. We must look forward to the future that Ginsburg wanted to build, and we must imagine ourselves realizing her goal of equal rights for all. In a speech given at Georgetown University, in Washington DC, Ginsburg stated that, “People ask me sometimes, ‘When will there be enough women on the court?’ My answer is: ‘When there are nine.’ People are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about that” (PBS, 2015). Ginsburg leaves a lasting impression on our society as one of the most influential and inspiring women in the world.

I hope to model Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s strength and perseverance and inspire those around me as well. Project Glimmer gives me an opportunity to empower other girls, like Ginsburg did, and honor her legacy.

Sources:

“Justice Ginsburg on ‘enough Women’ in the Supreme Court.” PBS NewsHour, 6 Feb. 2015, www.pbs.org/newshour/show/justice-ginsburg-enough-women-supreme-court

West, Betsy, and Julie Cohen. “RBG.” CNN, CNN Films, 4 May 2018, www.cnn.com/shows/rbg-ruth-bader-ginsburg-film

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg Tells Young Women: ‘Fight For The Things You Care About.’” Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/news-and-ideas/ruth-bader-ginsburg-tells-young-women-fight-for-the-things-you-care-about