Women’s rights would not be what they are today without U.S. Supreme Court Justices Susan Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Life experience matters, especially when deciding the fate of other people. This is incredibly evident from Linda Hirshman’s book Sisters In Law: How Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World (Harper-Collins, 2015).
O’Connor and Ginsburg were the first two women to serve on SCOTUS. They were so different (political parties, upbringing, religion), and yet had many similar experiences. One main likeness was both had been discriminated against solely because they were women.
Their approach, though, to bringing about change was strikingly different. This book illustrates how they left their mark on women’s (and men’s) rights as they pertain to employment discrimination, abortion, sexual harassment and other issues.
While the book is about the women, it is also about their colleagues on the top court—interactions, thought processes and allegiances.
This book is part biography, part history lesson, definitely a legal tutorial, but also a study in human behavior. It’s also about friendship. I wanted it to keep going.
