Ruth Bader Ginsburg Quotes

A collection of quotes by Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an American jurist and an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was born on March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York, and passed away on September 18, 2020.

Ginsburg graduated from Cornell University in 1954 and later attended Harvard Law School, where she excelled academically despite facing discrimination as one of the few women in her class. She transferred to Columbia Law School and graduated in 1959, tying for first in her class. Despite her remarkable academic achievements, Ginsburg faced significant challenges finding employment due to gender bias, eventually landing a teaching position at Rutgers Law School before becoming a professor at Columbia.

In the 1970s, Ginsburg co-founded the Women's Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), where she worked as a leading advocate for gender equality and women's rights. Her successful legal strategy led her to argue six landmark cases before the Supreme Court, where she famously fought for equal protection under the law.

Appointed by President Bill Clinton, Ginsburg took her seat on the Supreme Court on August 10, 1993, becoming the second woman ever to serve on the nation's highest court. During her tenure, Ginsburg became known for her progressive stance on a variety of issues and became a cultural icon, earning the nickname "Notorious RBG." Her strong liberal voice and dedication to upholding justice and equality made her one of the most respected figures in American law and society.

Reacting in anger or annoyance will not advance one's abilit

Reacting in anger or annoyance will not advance one's ability to persuade.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg


A gender line... helps to keep women not on a pedestal, but

A gender line... helps to keep women not on a pedestal, but in a cage.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg


Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way

Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg


My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be y

My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg


The state controlling a woman would mean denying her full au

The state controlling a woman would mean denying her full autonomy and full equality.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Equality

She never envisioned a legal career for me, but she did thin

She never envisioned a legal career for me, but she did think it was very important that I be able to support myself, and I think she would be pleased to see what has become of me.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Legal

I said on the equality side of it, that it is essential to a

I said on the equality side of it, that it is essential to a woman's equality with man that she be the decision-maker, that her choice be controlling.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Equality

Women will only have true equality when men share with them

Women will only have true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Equality

All respect for the office of the presidency aside, I assume

All respect for the office of the presidency aside, I assumed that the obvious and unadulterated decline of freedom and constitutional sovereignty, not to mention the efforts to curb the power of judicial review, spoke for itself.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Respect