Every year since 1987, March has been desig­nated and cele­brated as Women’s History Month. It’s essen­tial to take this time and commem­o­rate the vital role women have played in Amer­i­can history. We cele­brate the count­less women that fought coura­geously for justice and equal­ity in our coun­try, and by further­ing educa­tion on these impor­tant figures, we can continue to fight for advance­ments in oppor­tu­nity for young girls worldwide. 

In an effort to incor­po­rate the commu­ni­ty’s perspec­tives, a survey was conducted to recog­nize the many women who have inspired Justice teach­ers by asking this ques­tion:  In your life, who has been the most influ­en­tial woman in history?

CHOSEN BY ELIZABETH CORBIN: Ruth Bader Gins­burg, or R.B.G., inspired many gener­a­tions of women to fight against gender barri­ers. At Harvard Law School, she perse­vered in a male-domi­nated school where she was one of nine females in a 500-person class. After grad­u­at­ing, Gins­burg was the first woman hired to receive tenure as a profes­sor at Colum­bia Law School. She was involved with the Amer­i­can Civil Liber­ties Union and was central to found­ing the Women’s Rights Project in 1971. Gins­berg then served 13 years on the US Court of Appeals before her nomi­na­tion as an Asso­ciate Justice of the Supreme Court.  Her fight for gender equal­ity included actively disagree­ing with the court’s deci­sion in the Ledbet­ter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. case, deny­ing a woman’s gender pay discrim­i­na­tion claim. Addi­tion­ally, Gins­berg worked to combat pay dispar­i­ties with Pres­i­dent Barack Obama on the Lilly Ledbet­ter Fair Pay Act, accord­ing to the National Women’s History Museum. Through all adver­sity, Ruth Bader Gins­berg fought against gender inequal­ity and became an inspir­ing figure in history. 

CHOSEN BY SARAH SCHURMAN: Marsha P. John­son was one of the most influ­en­tial figures of New York City’s 1960–70’s gay rights move­ment. John­son was an advo­cate for home­less LGBTQ+ youth affected by H.I.V. and AIDS, as well as gay and trans­gen­der rights. John­son faced bully­ing and assault through­out her youth and was pres­sured to stop wear­ing cloth­ing that truly reflected her sense of self. Right after grad­u­at­ing high school, she moved to New York City with one bag of clothes and $15. It was there that John­son began to embrace her gender iden­tity, adopt­ing the full name Marsha P. John­son- the P stood for “Pay it no mind,” her infa­mous motto, accord­ing to the National Women’s History Museum. At the time, rights for LGBTQ+ people were limited and some­times ignored completely. On June 28, 1969, John­son found herself on the front lines with the resis­tance at The Stonewall Inn, angered by the oppres­sion and fear she expe­ri­enced all her life. In 1970, John­son founded Street Trans­ves­tite Action Revo­lu­tion­ar­ies (STAR), and dedi­cated her legacy to provid­ing shel­ter and safety to young trans­gen­der individuals.

CHOSEN BY JULIE REITER: Eliz­a­beth Jane Cochran, other­wise known as Nellie Bly, was a pioneer in inves­tiga­tive report­ing during the late 1800’s. Prior to the intro­duc­tion of “muck­rak­ers,” and find­ing the “story behind the story” in the early 20^th century, Bly was one of the first to “expose the ills of soci­ety,” accord­ing to the Women of the Hall. During her career, she had herself commit­ted to a mental insti­tu­tion with the goal of study­ing first-hand how people with mental-illnesses were treated. At this time, she was recog­nized as the “best reporter in Amer­ica,” by the New York Jour­nal. In the early 1900’s she took over her late husband’s fail­ing indus­tries and brought a huge success from these two multi-million dollar compa­nies. When the First World War broke out, she returned to her career as a reporter and covered the war from the trenches. Nellie Bly was a model of courage and achieve­ment for women worldwide.