Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Fight for Financial Equality (RBG’s Most Notable Accomplishments for Financial Equality and Freedom)

September 18th, 2020, marked a despairing moment in time.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second-ever female Supreme Court justice, passed away from complications with cancer.

The Notorious RBG dedicated her life to equality and freedom of law. RBG’s work has contributed to much of the financial security and access that we all have today. Despite people’s political differences, it is no question that RBG paved legal access to some of the most critical economic opportunities for men and women.

Without question, RBG passionately worked to uncover inequalities and discrimination in the law and focused on economic gaps to create equality and freedom for all.

In this article, I will discuss some things that RBG has done for women, including:

1. The right to sign a mortgage and have a bank account without a male cosigner
2. The right for equal pay and to have a job without gender discrimination
3. The right for women to work while being pregnant or raising children

Women’s rights to financial independence

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act, passed in 1974, paved the way for women to become financially independent without a male cosigner.

Before the act, women could not control or make their own financial decisions. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act allows women to open their bank accounts, use credit cards in their names, and sign a mortgage without a man.

We can all credit RBG for her incredible work in the financial sector that allows for equal access in much of the banking system.

Initiated women’s rights to equal pay

Although we are still working towards pay equality today, Ruth Badger Ginsburg fought for equality and freedom in our paychecks.

RBG argued for equal pay for women throughout her career and has greatly impacted closing the pay gap. In the famous case known as Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, Ms. Ledbetter recognized that she made approximately $15,000 less than her male counterpart after being at the company for twenty years.

This case marked a powerful movement in workforce pay discrimination, as RBG argued that pay discrimination is often harder to detect over time, “as employers often make decisions that push a woman’s salary farther behind male peers.”

As a result, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, enacted in 2009, protects workers against pay discrimination. The act is named in Lilly Ledbetter’s honor and notes that pay discrimination can not be based on sex, race, disability, religion, age, or national origin. This act clarified that any inequitable payments are unlawful, even if they result from a pay decision made in the past.

Although the Women’s Policy Research estimated in 2015 that women wouldn’t fully receive equal pay until the year 2059, we would not be where we would be today without RBG.

Equal rights to estates

RBG argued in 1971 for equality and freedom in estate access. In the case Reed v Reed, RBG argued that gender discrimination is not constitutional for estate administrators. Prior to the case, the decedent’s estate administrator was solely based on gender, favoring the man as the only estate administrator.

Women can work while being pregnant without discrimination

In 1974, RBG argued that pregnancy could not be a basis for discrimination for women’s rights to work. RBG helped draft the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which made it illegal for employers to treat their pregnant employees differently, including hiring, firing, promotions, and training.

Rest in power, Ruth

Overall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg lived a remarkable life, and her work will live on.

Without RBG’s furious fight for equality and freedom, the American people would not be where we are today. Feel free to read this Forbes article to learn more about some of the incredible cases Ruth Bader Ginsburg argued for.