Social, political, and economic equality are the three root principles of feminism. And to add on to this, there is also a battle for women against systemic inequality on a daily basis. 

As if on cue, there is yet another tragedy to rock the country this year; in the wake of the death of feminist icon and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, many have lost a voice speaking up for women, minorities, and the LGBTQ+ community at a legal level and beyond. 

Despite her passing, Ginsburg left her mark on the world by being one of the most persistent and awe-inspiring women to ever grace the Supreme Court. As seen in even some of her earliest cases—having to do with pregnancy benefits, reproductive healthcare, and equal pay—it is clear she has been interested in securing women’s rights since the beginning of her career.

Going back further, Ginsburg was born into a working-class family. She excelled in her studies all of her life and later attended Cornell University in 1954 (where she earned her bachelor’s degree in government). Two years later, Ginsburg went back to school in a male-dominated environment and while also caring for her newborn baby with her husband Martin D. Ginsburg.

Attending Harvard University as a law student landed Ginsburg, and the other eight women out of their class of 500, in the hot-seat with school administrators for “taking the place of qualified males.” It, however, can be considered crucial to her career to have the experiences she did throughout her early years before being appointed by former President Bill Clinton in 1993. In the face of concern from the men around her were about her transition from social advocacy to becoming a Supreme Court Justice, Ginsburg showed a smooth transition to the seat while taking those very same core values along with her.

Perhaps why Ginsburg was so influential and remains a figurehead of feminism even after her death is that she came from humble beginnings. I believe it is difficult for women and young girls to relate to women in positions of power who may have come from places that handed them more opportunities. While these women are no less valid and have certainly experienced injustices similar to, say, Ginsburg, they, however, may not have a complete understanding of what it is like to claw up to the track even after the race has already begun. Not only did she have to catch up with men, but she also didn’t have “an easy way out” of putting in the work either.

Furthermore, it is clear that she understood her calling from the beginning. Ginsburg has worked tirelessly her whole life to ensure equality; she truly embodied the definition of a hard-worker.

Ginsburg was truly astonishing among her male peers as well, and every action she took certainly was a display of her powerful mind, unbreakable spirit, and willful values, all of which she held close throughout her years serving in politics.

One of the key takeaways from the life of Ginsburg is her assiduous ambition for the notion that women are more than what a man thinks of them. She continually proved that a woman stands on her own. Although a woman may be happy in companionship, that doesn’t mean she isn’t equal in the partnership and isn’t much more than that. This truth is redundant in any aspect of a woman’s life: women have brains, women are men’s equal and should be treated as such, and women refuse to stand for inequality any longer as the light from feminist ideals grows brighter each day.