Lesson 1 A Step to Spark Change
Reading 1
A Judge Who Broke Down Barriers
Two girls excitedly pose to take pictures in front of a statue of a woman.
Who is this woman?
She is not a famous actress or a pop star.
Her name is Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
She is an American icon who inspired the world by devoting her life to justice and gender equality.
Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn in 1933.
During her academic career, Ginsburg was an excellent student, despite having to overcome many barriers.
She always received good grades as a child, and she continued to excel in university.
In 1954, Ginsburg graduated from Cornell University at the top of her class, and she was later accepted into Harvard Law School.
While attending Harvard, however, Ginsburg faced discrimination.
There were only nine women out of 500 students in the program, and many people thought the school should have given the women’s spots to men.
They were even restricted from using some sections of the library.
Ginsburg transferred to Columbia Law School for her final year, and she graduated at the top of her class in 1959.
Even with her impressive academic record, Ginsburg still had a hard time finding a job as a lawyer.
She was not only a woman but also Jewish and a mother.
The first position she found was as a law clerk for a U.S. district judge.
After two years in this position, she finally started to get offers from law firms.
However, these offers always came with a salary lower than those of the firm’s male lawyers, so she didn’t accept any of them.
Instead, she decided to study other areas of law and eventually became a law professor.
She taught at Columbia University, and, in 1972, she became the first woman to be offered a permanent professorship there.
While at Columbia, Ginsburg also worked hard as general counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and argued many gender discrimination cases in the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1980, Ginsburg left Columbia University to become a judge.
Thirteen years later, she was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court and became only the second woman to hold the position.
During her time as a judge, Ginsburg never stopped fighting for women’s rights and gender equality.
Here are three examples of legislation that Ginsburg helped to pass.
1 Men are entitled to the same caregiving and Social Security rights as women.
Ginsburg always argued that gender equality policies should benefit both men and women.
In 1972, Ginsburg represented Charles Moritz, who was a journalist in his early sixties.
Moritz needed help taking care of his sick mother.
However, he could not receive tax benefits for hiring a caregiver, because they were only available to women, divorced men, and men whose wives were disabled or had passed away.
As an unmarried man, Moritz did not qualify to have his taxes reduced.
Nevertheless, after this case, the federal law was changed to allow people of any gender to have their taxes reduced so that they can hire caregivers.
2 Women have the right to financial independence and equal benefits.
In 1974, Ginsburg’s work also helped pass the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which prevents banks from discriminating against people based on their age, race, gender, national origin, or marriage status.
Prior to this act, married women needed their husband to sign for a loan, even if they had a job and a higher income.
3 State-funded schools must admit women.
In 1996, Ginsburg was also responsible for the Supreme Court’s historic decision in United States vs. Virginia.
The decision stated that Virginia Military Institute’s male-only admissions policy went against the principle of equal protection.
Ginsburg argued that women should be allowed to join the same program as men.
This decision helped ensure that women have equal rights to education at public institutions in the United States.
Throughout her life, Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought for the things she cared about and inspired others to follow in her footsteps.
Even though she passed away on September 18, 2020, she will always be remembered as a champion of equality and a tireless defender of justice.
"Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you."
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