She graduated first in her law school class and could not get a job — because she was a woman and a mother.
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Who Ruth Bader Ginsburg was
Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the second woman on the United States Supreme Court. Before that, she spent decades using the law to fight gender discrimination.
The struggle
Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn in 1933. Her mother encouraged her to be independent but died the day before Ruth’s high school graduation. Ruth attended Cornell, then Harvard Law School, where she was one of nine women in a class of hundreds.
When her husband fell ill with cancer, she attended his classes and her own, taking notes for both. She transferred to Columbia and graduated first in her class. Law firms still would not hire her.
She became a law professor instead. In the 1970s she co-founded the Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU. She chose her cases carefully — often representing men who had been denied benefits, knowing that male judges would be more likely to see the unfairness.
The turning point
Ginsburg argued six gender-discrimination cases before the Supreme Court and won five. She built precedent after precedent, changing how the law treated men and women. In 1993 President Bill Clinton nominated her to the Supreme Court.
On the Court she became known for her sharp dissents and rigorous opinions. A new generation called her “The Notorious R.B.G.” She served until her death in 2020.
“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
The principle
Ginsburg did not win by shouting. She won by choosing the right cases, building careful arguments, and persuading people who disagreed with her. Strategy and persistence beat outrage.
Apply it today
Pick your battles. Build your case. Win the minds of people who are not already on your side. The most durable victories come from changing the rules, not just winning the argument.
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