Countless Redbubble stickers featuring Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s quotes about women deserving a place in politics line women’s laptops across the country, an indication of the countless barriers Ginsburg broke throughout her career. She was the second woman to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court and served for 27 years, until the day of her passing on Sept. 28. 

In a merely political sense, Ginsburg was known for her dissenting opinion, or disagreement with the majority. But as a person, she went beyond the breadth of her political identity. Her career was dedicated to fighting against gender discrimination, which can be seen in her most well-known opinion in United States v. Virginia in 1996, where the Virginia Military Institute was ordered to accept women into their program. 

Ginsburg spent a lifetime defying gender expectations, by graduating at the top of her undergraduate class at Cornell University and being one of nine women at Harvard Law School in a class of over 500 men. Her dedication and perseverance clearly showed in an era when women were expected to prioritize their home life, which she also accomplished as a mother, while fulfilling an unprecedented career in law and upholding justice. The life she led paved the way for women to break the glass ceiling of gender norms. 

She was an inspiration for many with her outspoken, yet thoughtful, nature. She advocated for women everywhere to have “a seat at the table.” In Ginsburg’s case, male co-workers tried to exclude her from the world of politics because of her gender. This continues today, for women everywhere, and is especially difficult for those of us who want to enter the male-dominated world of government and law.

Ginsburg showed us that it’s possible to challenge these “norms.” 

Despite the fear of who will physically fill her seat in the coming months, Ginsburg left the seat open to women across the country. While it may not be in the Supreme Court, we as women have the opportunity to have a seat at a table full of men, a seat that Ginsburg worked tirelessly to secure. 

She showed us how to dissent in the courtroom and in life. Ginsburg proved  that women do not have to follow along blindly with the majority, or with men. We are entitled to our opinions and choices, and no one is allowed to take that right away from us. 

While the future of our democracy should not rest in the hands of one person, Ginsburg seemed like our last standing member of the Supreme Court who actively fought against gender discrimination. In a case from July 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that employers can refuse to provide birth control coverage for employees on the basis of religious or moral objections. The vote was 7-2, with Ginsburg in the minority opinion. Losing an advocate for women’s rights like Ginsburg is detrimental to the U.S. 

Upon learning of Ginsburg’s passing, women across the nation mourned her death and are fearful they may lose their rights. Ginsburg passed the torch to us. It is our job to continue to defend not only our rights as women, but social justice as a whole in the U.S.

I am thankful to bear witness to such a powerhouse of a woman serve as an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Ginsburg not only taught us what it means to be a feminist, but inspired me and many other women pursuing a legal career to uphold the pillars of our democracy that are constantly threatened.

Community Reactions:

“She was a champion of the law. I really looked up to her. She was one of the reasons I am pursuing politics and law. I am afraid of what the future could look like for body autonomy if the Supreme Court is all conservative judges. I guess time will tell.” 

– Megan Piasecki ’22, pre-law student

“My life, as well as the lives of so many Americans, is so much better because of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She had a vision of a society in which equality and fairness existed, and through her legal advocacy, brilliant strategizing, and judicial rulings, R.B.G. helped to make the U.S. a more perfect union.

 I hope we realize that with her passing under the current circumstances, this legacy, this ‘normal,’ is under threat. Women and men alike need to recognize just what R.B.G. helped accomplish and what is at stake today. She’d be the first to say that we still have more work to do to reach equality for all, particularly because gender intersects with race, class, sexuality and other identity markers. Thank you, R.B.G. I am so grateful to you and very saddened by your death.”

 – Lisa Baglione, Ph.D., political science professor

“Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg proved to the world that women can do it all. The U.S. cannot be a democracy if one leader’s death can change our country’s course. Tomorrow and everyday, I will wake up and only attempt to do an ounce of what Ruth Bader Ginsburg did for the world. Thank you, Justice Ginsburg. I am forever indebted to you.”

– Maddie Demarco ’22, political science student, Women’s Leadership Initiative co-president

“Justice Ginsburg affected my life, teaching and scholarship. She was an eloquent advocate for reproductive rights based on equality, not privacy. Her defense of voting rights for Black Americans – the dissent in Shelby v. Holder – is, for me, the best of what the U.S. has to offer: well-evidenced claims based on history presented in clear, unwavering prose. She was one of the most intelligent, well-prepared, and incisive justices in U.S. Supreme Court history.”

– Susan Liebell, Ph.D., associate professor of political science and pre-law advisor

Reporting by Sehar Macan-Markar ’22