Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan & Sandra Day O’Connor. These are names that every young woman in America today should know. With Women’s History Month having come and gone, it is important to recognize some of the powerful, strong women that have helped to establish the societal norms we live with today.
Since its inception, the United States Supreme Court has been primarily occupied by white, Christian males. Following breakthroughs in diversity on the Court, such as the appointment of the first Jewish Justice, Louis Brandeis in 1916, and the first African-American Justice, Thurgood Marshall in 1967, the first woman Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was nominated in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan. Justice O’Connor was unanimously confirmed by the Senate, commencing a legendary career that ended in 2006, when she retired from the Court to care for her ailing husband. Sandra Day O’Connor paved the way for further female involvement in the Supreme Court and the United States judicial system at large.
During her time on the bench, Justice O’Connor showed a deep commitment to combating gender discrimination on both individual and societal levels. The first landmark case of Justice O’Connor’s career was Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan, where she challenged gender stereotypes and fought for the admission of male nurses into an exclusively female nursing school. Her strong beliefs in gender equality continued to inform her work on the bench, especially in reaffirming rulings set by the famous Roe v. Wade abortion case, as she showcased in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which aided in the progression of women's health rights. Despite many of her fellow conservatives working to walk back the progress made by Roe, Justice O’Connor continued to advocate for women. She also acted as a powerful swing vote in many decisive cases, like Bush v. Gore, which granted the presidency to George W. Bush in 2000.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, though represent important strides for women in our judicial system in the 21st century, have too new careers to see the impact that O’Connor has made on society. Today Justice O’Connor’s spark has manifested on the Court in Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A joint biography, Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World, credits Justices O’Connor and Ginsburg with revolutionary changes in the Supreme Court for American women. Justice Ginsburg was appointed as a liberal justice by President Clinton in 1993, and although she conflicted with her politically conservative female colleague at times, Justice O’Connor strengthened Justice Ginsburg’s career as a fellow woman on the Court.
One of Justices Ginsburg's most notable cases was her landmark decision in United States v. Virginia, which stated that the Virginia Military Institute could not reject female applicants. Ginsburg has been an unshakable proponent for equal rights--not only for women in the United States, but for all minorities. She proved to be instrumental in the monumental Obergefell v. Hodges, which officially legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Justice Ginsburg argued early in proceedings for this decision, and publicly supported the LGBT+ community during her time on the Court.
Under the current presidential administration, it seems unlikely that female justices will be nominated to fill any vacancies that might arise. When Justice Antonin Scalia died in 2016, President Trump’s top nominee choices were overwhelmingly white males from conservative states, and the Senate confirmed Justice Neil Gorsuch as Justice Scalia’s conservative replacement.
As we continue to celebrate strides made by women in the United States after Women’s History Month, we must continue to value strong women who fight for not only their own rights, but also those of any who are underappreciated in government.