By Lori Adelman • @ladelman • 12 years ago

Justice Ginsburg to female judges: “Dare to disagree”

PhotobucketIt’s no secret that Feministing folks have a bit of a girl crush on Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second female Supreme Court Justice and the first Jewish woman to serve on the court.

In addition to being a remarkable public advocate for women’s rights, she’s been known to speak out against attacks on women’s health, and even publicly maintained a supportive and equal partnership in her marriage to her late husband.

This week, she can be found encouraging a roomful of her female colleagues in justice to speak up as well, with this simple message: “dare to disagree.”

The Star Ledger reports that Ginsberg delivered her signature poise and passion during her keynote address to the National Association of Women Judges conference in Newark this weekend.

“On rare occasions, a dissent turns the court and becomes the opinion of the court…I will continue to speak out in dissent when important matters are at stake,” she reportedly pledged.

It seems she practices what she preaches, as she has often sided with the dissenting opinion, including in a crucial federal abortion ban case and in the now infamous Lilly Ledbetter case which drastically undermined protections against wage discrimination until the Lilly Ledbetter Act was signed into law in 2009.

Brooklyn, NY

Lori Adelman started blogging with Feministing in 2008, and now runs partnerships and strategy as a co-Executive Director. She is also the Director of Youth Engagement at Women Deliver, where she promotes meaningful youth engagement in international development efforts, including through running the award-winning Women Deliver Young Leaders Program. Lori was formerly the Director of Global Communications at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and has also worked at the United Nations Foundation on the Secretary-General's flagship Every Woman Every Child initiative, and at the International Women’s Health Coalition and Human Rights Watch. As a leading voice on women’s rights issues, Lori frequently consults, speaks and publishes on feminism, activism and movement-building. A graduate of Harvard University, Lori has been named to The Root 100 list of the most influential African Americans in the United States, and to Forbes Magazine‘s list of the “30 Under 30” successful mediamakers. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Lori Adelman is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Partnerships.

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