View this email in your browser.   

September 21, 2020

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Zendaya makes history at the Emmys, the TikTok deal moves ahead, and we mourn Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Have a reflective Monday.

– RIP, RBG. If you’ve been feeling down—or worse—since Friday night, I don’t blame you. The passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg left many of us bereft—whether because of the loss of a legal titan or worry about what her departure from the bench means for the future of the Court.

This morning, I’d like to stay focused on the woman herself (read on below for more on the political implications of Ginsburg’s death). For some of us, it’s hard to remember a time when the Supreme Court justice wasn’t the Notorious RBG, a pop culture icon known as much for the style of her dissents (and their accompanying collars) as for the content of her legal decisions.

But decades before she earned the moniker as a leading voice on cases ranging from voting rights to abortion rights to equal pay, Ginsburg was doing the work in her own slow, deliberate manner. At the American Civil Liberties Union’s Women’s Rights Project, Ginsburg slowly chipped away case by case at ways American law treated women and men differently.

Allow me to quickly list a few of the rights women and men hold thanks to Ginsburg’s revolutionary legal strategy targeting sex discrimination as it affected both genders: the ability for a woman to secure a mortgage without a man, a widower’s right to receive Social Security benefits from his late wife, the right for a woman to have a credit card independent of a man, a military husband’s ability to be his wife’s dependent, and so many more. By showing how sex discrimination hurt everyone, Ginsburg changed public and legal opinion on the issue. Years before she served on the Supreme Court, Ginsburg won five out of the six cases she argued there.

Ginsburg’s legendary work ethic—from taking her husband’s courses in law school as he was treated for cancer to the workout routine she kept up until just a few months ago—has been well-documented, from news coverage to the 2018 film On the Basis of Sex, chronicling the lawyer’s early career. Earlier this year, the TV series Mrs. Americaincluded a quick nod to “Ruth,” a shy, whip-smart lawyer who sat quietly next to the flashier feminists of the 1970s.

It’s admittedly hard to separate the meaning of the death of such a towering figure from the political context surrounding it. But as you pull out your credit card today to make a purchase, pay your mortgage, or get your next paycheck, think of the fundamental rights the justice secured for women in American law. It’s a legacy just as powerful as the one she leaves on the nation’s highest court.

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

Content From PwC
Building on a culture of belonging
We have been building a diverse and inclusive culture for more than two decades. Releasing our first ever Diversity & Inclusion Transparency Report is part of our commitment to accountability and transparency. This level of transparency is rare, but important as we share our journey and vision for the future.

A note from Fortune's editor-in-chief

FORTUNE MPW Next Gen Community

Join the Most Powerful Women Next Gen Community, attend the October 13-14 Virtual Summit and experience 6 months of Fortune Connect! Apply now!

Clifton Leaf

 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 

ON MY RADAR

Fed Cup to be renamed Billie Jean King Cup  BBC

Queen Elizabeth II strips Harvey Weinstein of his honorary award  Fortune

Apollo’s Stephanie Drescher on running a global investment firm from her living room  Fortune

 

PARTING WORDS

"That's the dissenter's hope: that they are writing not for today, but for tomorrow."

-Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Thanks for reading.

If you liked this email, pay it forward. Share it with someone you know.

Did someone share this with you? Sign up here. For previous editions, click here.

To view all of Fortune's newsletters on the latest in business, go here.