Law

Content type
Collection
Lani Guinier

Lani Guinier

Lani Guinier’s groundbreaking work in law and civil rights theory led to her becoming the first woman of color granted tenure at Harvard Law School.
Sada Jacobson

Sada Jacobson

Sada Jacobson won the bronze medal for sabre fencing at the 2004 Olympics (the first Olympics where women were allowed to compete in sabre), then did one better in 2008, bringing home both a silver and another bronze medal.
2014 Fireworks
December 31, 2014

Top Ten Moments For Jewish Women In 2014

Judith Rosenbaum

I’ve already expressed my feelings on the whole “year of the Jewish woman” thing, but that’s not to say we shouldn’t celebrate the many great moments for Jewish women in 2014. Here, in no particular order, are a few of our favorites at JWA.

Topics: Feminism, Radio, Television, Holocaust, Law, Publishing
Lisa Batya Feld on Beate Sirota Gordon Thumbnail

Birth of Beate Sirota Gordon, who wrote equality into the postwar Japanese constitution

October 25, 1923

"Colonel Kades said, 'Miss Sirota has her heart set on the women's rights clause, so why don't we pass it?'"

Harriet Fleischl Pilpel

Birth of Harriet Fleischl Pilpel, Pioneer for the Right to Privacy and Free Speech

December 2, 1911

Lawyer Harriet Fleischl Pilpel provides the historical link between birth control activist Margaret Sanger and feminist Betty Friedan.

Martine Rothblatt, September 23, 2010

Martine Rothblatt

CEO Martine Rothblatt’s fascination with interconnectivity led her to found both GeoStar and Sirius Radio, but it was her drive to save her daughter’s life that led her to create biotech company United Therapeutics Corporation.
Harriet B. Lowenstein, 1918

Harriet Lowenstein

Harriet Lowenstein gave the Joint Distribution Committee its name and led many of the organization’s efforts to aid those trapped in Europe during both World Wars.
Hobby Lobby and the United States Supreme Court
July 2, 2014

Losing Their Religion: A Law Professor Looks at Hobby Lobby

Jed Handelsman Shugerman

There are many reasons I think the Supreme Court is wrong as a legal matter in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby.

Topics: Law
Carol Ruth Silver in Birmingham, Alabama, May 2000

Carol Ruth Silver

Carol Ruth Silver was one of the first two white women to be jailed in the Freedom Rides, an experience that sparked a career in law and politics, fighting for the rights of others.
Janice Goodman and Victoria Gray Adams, 1988

Janice Goodman

Janice Goodman’s work on civil rights issues drove her to become a lawyer, arguing class action cases for women’s rights.
Sonia Pressman Fuentes

Sonia Pressman Fuentes

Sonia Pressman Fuentes, the first female attorney in the office of the general counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, helped extend the Civil Rights Act’s protections of equal opportunity to all people regardless of gender.

Joyce Antler

Joyce Antler

Using both field research and her own experiences posing as a pregnant woman, Joyce Antler not only helped repeal New York’s laws against abortion, but ensured that women had real access to medical services after the law was repealed.
Rebecca Young, 2002

Rebecca Young

Rebecca Young’s focus on prisoners’ rights led her to create programs to improve the juvenile justice system and monitor and report prisoner abuse.
Miriam Waltzer

Miriam Waltzer

As the first woman elected to the New Orleans Criminal District Court, Miriam Waltzer fought for the civil rights of minorities, children, and women.
Judy Somberg and Two Colleagues, March 1987

Judy Somberg

Judy Somberg’s work with the Sister Cities Project in El Salvador helped locals return to their villages after the military takeover in 1987 and freed eleven people who had been “disappeared.”
Susan Maze-Rothstein, January 25, 2002

Susan Maze-Rothstein

Susan Maze-Rothstein’s childhood experiences of injustice led her to help create a more just world for her children and her students.
Ruth Abrams, 2001

Ruth Abrams

The first woman to serve on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Ruth Abrams upheld the rights of women and minorities throughout her career.

Senator Rosalie Silber Abrams

Senator Rosalie Silber Abrams

The first Jewish woman elected to the Maryland State Senate, Rosalie Silber Abrams was an energetic and activist legislator who oversaw the passage of nearly 300 bills during her seventeen-year career in the Maryland General Assembly.

Steve Benson on Bette Midler's Unique Voice Thumbnail

Bette Midler Owns Her Own Voice

October 31, 1989

US Court of Appeals says Bette Midler's voice is distinctive.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The demand for justice runs through the entirety of Jewish history and Jewish tradition.

National Organization for Women (NOW) Participants, 1966

Sonia Pressman Fuentes

I became the staff person who stood for aggressive enforcement of the sex discrimination prohibitions of the Civil Rights Act.
Draft of Statement by Joyce (de Terra) Antler for Mayor Lindsay, March 2, 1970

Joyce Antler

Besides they told me, ‘only bad girls get abortions.’

Judy Wilkenfeld, 2002

Judy Wilkenfeld, 1943 - 2007

Judy Wilkenfeld brought people together, made everyone with whom she came into contact better, and became a close and trusted friend, confidante, mentor, and role model to so many people with whom she worked.

Beate Sirota Gordon, 1987
March 28, 2013

Meet Beate Sirota Gordon – Who Knew?

Elizabeth Pleck

Beate Sirota Gordon (1923-2012), feminist and Asian arts impressario, was only 22 years old when she wrote women's rights into Japan’s constitution. In her postwar career as a director of performing arts, first for the Japan Society and then the Asia Society in New York City, she introduced Americans to Asian visual and performing arts, from Japanese wood block prints to Burmese music to Vietnamese puppets.

Topics: Women's Rights, Art, Law
Sheryl Sandberg
March 19, 2013

I’m Hitting “Like” on Leaning In

Evelyn Becker

The spotlight is on Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, and her mission to change the balance of power in the United States.  Sandberg’s book Lean In hit the proverbial shelves this week and the media is buzzing.  Is Sandberg the new Gloria Steinem?  Will her message on women and leadership motivate real change? 

Topics: Entrepreneurs, Law, Non-Fiction

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