Answer

Worksheet 4: Ruth Bader Ginsberg

Biography

Born in 1933 in Brooklyn, New York, Ruth Bader Ginsburg grew up at a time of extraordinary discrimination against females with regard to particular professions including the one that she chose to pursue—Law. What made her a leader was her pioneering work in law at a time when the odds were badly stacked up against her. She demonstrated that women too could rise above the mundane stereotypes they were exposed against by leading many causes that championed for equality on many fronts in society. Her unique leadership saw her rise to the highest court in the land, serving as a jurist on the Supreme Court from 1993 to the time of her death in 2020 (Clow 33).

Leadership Style and Approach

Ruth Bader Ginsburg became an exemplary leader because of several traits and approaches to leadership. First was her tenacity. Mrs Ginsburg attended Harvard Law School while she was already a mother (Clow 33). The demanding academic schedule, ridicule that went with her being among the few female faces in her class and the pressures at home would have made her simply give up. She did not. Ruth Ginsburg was a leader who was willing to reach across the aisle and fight discrimination in all its forms. Although known as a fierce feminist all her life, the very first case that Ruth Ginsberg took to the Supreme Court and launched her civil work was one involving discrimination against male care givers. Sex discrimination, Ginsburg argued, hurt men as much as it did hurt women (Bader and McKeown 5). Her tenacity and ability to argue non-discriminatively against injustice gave her a wide appeal. More than these however, was her cross-generational and cross-cultural awareness. Even while she remained one of the oldest jurists, Mrs Ginsburg was the most loved by the younger generation. She was perceptive to their plight, and joined causes that were most important to them. Little wonder then they lovingly christened her “the notorious RBG”. This was testament to her awareness of youthful culture and virtues.

Analysis of Leader

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in my opinion, was a good leader. The strength in her was seen through her choice of the least popular opinions in her time and carrying the fight all the way. Clow observed that as the co-founder and director of the ACLU Women’s Rights Project, Ruth Ginsburg took it upon herself to challenge a wide range of institutional norms that had existed for generations (33). This was brave. Her liberal stances on most issues were also a perceptive and conciliatory approach to dealing with emerging issues of the day. Old as she was, and born at the time she was born in, it would be easy and convenient for her to choose the more popular and comfortable traditional views. This was not her; Ruth Ginsburg demonstrated her willingness to see issues through the lenses of others, some as young as her own grandchildren. This, in my opinion, immortalizes her not only in the feminist circles, but also in the progressive ones as well.