The 'Notorious RBG': Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Development of Gender Discrimination Jurisprudence in the USA

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has captured the popular imagination as a feminist icon in the US. Indeed, Justice Ginsburg was a trailblazer who made tremendous contribution to the advancement of equal rights for women in the USA by developing the ACLU’s litigation strategy before the Supreme Court of the US. Her legal strategy was to bring a series of cases before the Court, gradually culminating in a heightened scrutiny for gender discrimination under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. As the Equal Rights Amendment was never ratified, the Court’s framework for interpreting the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment - and the determination of which “test” to apply in cases involving gender discrimination – is critical to understanding the scope of women’s rights in the US. Data collection for this project began when I was working for the US Senate Judiciary Committee on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s confirmation hearings in 1993. One of my tasks was to read and synthesize everything she had written on gender discrimination (which was quite voluminous). For this paper, I have undertaken a content analysis of her opinions in all cases involving gender discrimination written during her 22 terms on the Bench of the Supreme Court. In my presentation I will discuss the impact of attorney and later judge and Justice Ginsburg on the development of gender discrimination jurisprudence in the US through an in-depth analysis of her scholarship, advocacy, and jurisprudence.