The famous US Chief Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the US Supreme Court has passed away. She turned 87 years old.
We will never forget Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court Justice. #RBG was a champion for justice and she cleared the way for gender equality so other women can have a seat at the table. Her legacy will live on.
Rest in power 🖤 pic.twitter.com/wjNoYq3IlG
— UN Women (@UN_Women) September 19, 2020
Women’s Rights and Gender Equality
Ginsburg was an inspiration to many women worldwide, including our Mashable Benelux editor and lawyer Georgina Lara Booth, and she was a champion of gender equality and women’s rights.
Ginsburg was a victim of sexism from the start of her career before she became Chief Justice. In 1956, Ginsburg was one of nine women admitted to Harvard Law School of the American Ivy League, out of a class of about 500, where the Dean asked how his female students could justify taking a man’s place on his school. She eventually transferred to Columbia Law School – the only Ivy League university located in New York City – where she graduated when her husband, also a Harvard Law alumnus, got a job as a tax attorney in New York. Despite graduating top of her class, Ginsburg was unable to find any job after graduating as a lawyer. “No law firm in all of New York City would hire me,” said Ginsburg.
In 1971, Ginsburg successfully pleaded before the Supreme Court in the Reed v Reed case, which examined whether men could automatically be given preference over women as executors of estates.
Cultural Awareness
Ginsburg was seen by many, young and old, as a cultural icon. For example, the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. has a painting of Ginsburg.
The Hollywood film, On the Basis of Sex, was also released in 2018 about her life and first lawsuits as Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court with actors Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) and Armie Hammer (The Social Network, Call Me By Your Name).
Furthermore, many famous stars and politicians have already posted tributes for Ginsburg on social media.
Supreme Court
Ginsburg was the second-ever female Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court when she was appointed. Controversy has now arisen as Ginsburg indicated just before her death that no new chief justice should be appointed until the election is over. The question now is whether current President Trump will appoint a new Republican Chief Justice for the November 2020 elections, as Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court will be appointed for life. Ginsburg was nominated to the US Supreme Court in 1993 by Democratic President Bill Clinton.
