Linda Greenhouse, a Supreme Court reporter for The New York Times, dives into the remarkable journey of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She recounts how Ginsburg, despite facing gender bias, transformed from an overlooked law graduate to a groundbreaking advocate for women's rights. Greenhouse highlights Ginsburg's unique strategies, her poignant dissents on key issues like pay discrimination, and her evolution into a cultural icon. Their discussion emphasizes Ginsburg's lasting legacy and the importance of her fight for gender equality.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Early Career Sexism
Early in her career, Ruth Bader Ginsburg faced sexism.
Despite excelling academically, she was denied jobs and clerkships because she was a woman.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Formative Rejection
Justice Frankfurter refused a clerkship to Ginsburg because of her gender.
This rejection, along with her time in Sweden, spurred Ginsburg to challenge gender inequality.
insights INSIGHT
Radical Equality
The idea of women being fully realized people was radical.
Even the Warren Court, known for progressive decisions, overlooked sex discrimination in its interpretation of the 14th Amendment.
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When Ruth Bader Ginsburg graduated from law school, she received no job offers from New York law firms, despite being an outstanding student. She spent two years clerking for a federal district judge, who agreed to hire her only after persuasion, and was rejected for a role working with Justice Felix Frankfurter because she was a woman.
With her career apparently stuttering in the male-dominated legal world, she returned to Columbia University to work on a law project that required her to spend time in Sweden. There, she encountered a more egalitarian society. She also came across a magazine article in which a Swedish feminist said that men and women had one main role: being people. That sentiment would become her organizing principle.
In the first of two episodes on the life of Justice Ginsburg, we chart her journey from her formative years to her late-life stardom on the Supreme Court.
Guest: Linda Greenhouse, who writes about the Supreme Court for The New York Times.
“Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life and landmark opinions moved us closer to a more perfect union,” former President Bill Clinton, who nominated her for the court, wrote on Twitter. Other tributes have poured in from leaders on all sides of the political spectrum.
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