Not a law firm in the entire city of New York bid for my employment as a lawyer when I earned my degree.
The concern was that if a woman was doing gender equality, her chances of making it to tenure in the law school were diminished. It was considered frivolous.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the challenges women face in pursuing gender equality within academic institutions, suggesting their efforts may jeopardize their professional advancement.
Ruth Bader Ginsburgβs quote reflects the societal bias that often undermines the efforts of women advocating for gender equality. It points to the belief that such advocacy is seen as less serious or important within the academia, which can lead to women facing disadvantages in their career progression, such as achieving tenure in law schools. This illustrates the broader systemic issues that devalue women's contributions to the fight for equality and justice.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture discussing women's rights and academic policies, this quote can illustrate the barriers women face.
More from Ruth Bader Ginsburg
All quotes βIf you want to influence people, you want them to accept your suggestions, you don't say, 'You don't know how to use the English language,' or 'How could you make that argument?' It will be welcomed much more if you have a gentle touch than if you are aggressive.
I try to teach through my opinions, through my speeches, how wrong it is to judge people on the basis of what they look like, color of their skin, whether they're men or women.
The worst times were the years I was alone. The image to the public entering the courtroom was eight men, of a certain size, and then this little woman sitting to the side. That was not a good image for the public to see.
A constitution, as important as it is, will mean nothing unless the people are yearning for liberty and freedom.
My resume showed membership on both the Harvard and Columbia Law Reviews, a credit impressive abroad where it was not generally known that Law Reviews were student-operated publications.
Similar quotes
When a woman is exhorted to be compliant, cooperative, and quiet, to not make upset or go against the old guard, she is pressed into living a most unnatural life- a life that is self-blinding.. . without innovation. The world-wide issue for women is that under such conditions they are not only silenced, they are put to sleep. Their concerns, their viewpoints, their own truths are vaporized.
Men think it's a women's word. But what it means is that you believe in equality, and if you stand for equality, then you're a feminist. Sorry to tell you. You're a feminist. You're a feminist. That's it.
I'm not pretending I can give advice to every single person or every single couple for every situation; I'm making the point that we are not going to get to equality in the workforce before we get to equality in the home. Not going to happen.
I can't say that the college-bred woman is the most contented woman. The broader her mind the more she understands the unequal conditions between men and women, the more she chafes under a government that tolerates it.
It's really important for boys to see that girls take up half of the planet - which we do.
There is nothing of greater importance to the well-being of society at large - of man as well as woman - than the true proper position of woman.