Wonder Woman of the Week: Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The spotlight for this week held many powerful titles each enough to warrant the coveted title before becoming a key member of her country’s judicial authority. After years of being a student, professor, and legal expert, she went on to be one of only a handful of female Supreme Court Justices and did so in a time of national discrimination against women. She has since been a pillar of progressivism on the federal level and a key figure in Women’s Rights Movements for the last six decades. The Wonder Woman of the Week is Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1933 to a low-income family. Her economic status did not keep Ginsburg’s parents from teaching her how to grow up to be a strong, independent, and educated woman. The young woman’s parents were pressed under the stress of the Great Depression, but insisted their daughter excel in school. The day before Ginsburg’s mother died of cancer. Ginsburg later wrote of her mother, “My mother told me two things constantly. One was to be a lady, and the other was to be independent.” [1]

After finishing high school as one of the leaders of her class, Ruth Bader Ginsburg struggled in college against the grains of sexual discrimination at Cornell University. There, Ginsburg excelled regardless of the obstacles before her; graduating top of the class in 1954, married her husband Martin, and had her first child all in the same year. Two years later, Ginsburg enrolled at Harvard Law. At Harvard, Ginsburg not only managed to maintain a strong position in her class, but helped her sick husband with his studies when he was diagnosed with cancer. When he recovered soon after, Ginsburg and her husband moved to New York City and Ginsburg transferred to Columbia Law. [2]

After graduating from Columbia Law, Ruth Bader Ginsburg began a career in law starting with a law clerk job in 1959 working with Judge Edmond L Palmieri. After three years, she began her job as a research assistant and then the associate director of the Columbia Law School on International Procedure. In 1963, Ginsburg became a professor of law at Rutgers University and held the position for nine years before becoming a professor at Columbia in 1972. During her professional career, Ginsburg was a major figure in Second Wave Feminism (the movement characterized by 1960’s and 70’s Women’s Civil Rights Movements in the United States) as well as a member of the American Civil Liberties Union for which she served as a member of the General Counsel from 1973-1980. In 1980, Ginsburg was appointed as Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and in 1993, President Clinton nominated her for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. [3]

Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s time on the US Supreme Court has been legendary to say the least. the progressivist judge has become a legend among advocates for human rights in the United States from across civil rights groups. Ginsburg has rightfully earned the praise. As the second woman to ever be appointed to the Supreme Court, Ginsburg is also the oldest member. Entire online blogs and twitter handles have been dedicated her and some of her fans have even received Ginsburg tattoos. [4]

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg Biography.” Biography.com. A&E Television; nd. Web. 15 March 2017.

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg.” Oyez. IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law; nd. Web. 15 March 2017,

“Biographies of Current Justices of the Supreme Court.” Supreme Court of the United States; nd. Web. 15 March 2017.

Collins, Gail. “The Unsinkable RBG.” Sunday review. The New York Times; 20 February 2015. Web. 15 March 2017.