The Marquette Women’s Innovation Network hosted an event on Friday highlighting the life and career of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Attendees from both the Marquette student body and citizens of the greater Milwaukee area enjoyed dinner and discussion with federal prosecutor — and former clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia — Rebecca Taibleson and assistant dean of admissions to the Marquette Law School, Anna Fodor after a screening of the 2018 film “On the Basis of Sex.”
A major theme of the night was honoring Justice Ginsburg’s career, her devotion to fighting for equal rights both in the law and in the legal field and her role as an inspiration for women.
“Ruth Bader Ginsburg overcame a ton of hurdles that don’t exist anymore, so if she can do it, so can we,” Taibleson said.
In her time working for Scalia, Taibleson said she had many encounters with Ginsburg and even had tea with her previously.
“She is a unique person and a bit of a dynamo,” Taibleson said of Ginsburg.
For Taibleson, Justice Ginsburg’s devotion and dedication to justice is most inspiring.
“She’s a workhorse; she’s not young, but she keeps at it and works harder than I do right now.”
Fodor said she feels that events like these are incredibly inspiring and impactful for young women in law.
“Working in the law school, I see young women striving to do great things,” Fodor said. “It’s entirely possible that you put the work in and it just fails, but if (Justice Ginsburg) overcame all of the obstacles, we can do it.”
For Fodor, the film’s depiction of Justice Ginsburg’s time in law school is incredibly important.
“As an assistant dean of students, I’m amazed at what she did in law school,” she said.
More specifically, Fodor said she is inspired by Ginsburg’s courage to be involved in her classes, despite being one of nine women in her class at Harvard Law School.
“She raised her hand, she didn’t just wait to be called on. That, as someone who works in a law school, is pretty impressive,” she said.
Fodor also expressed how she hopes women in the law school had attended the event, but also that there are more opportunities for women in the law school in the future.
“The law school has a student chapter of a group called the Association of Women Lawyers, and they’re continuously putting on events to network with attorneys and talk about important issues,” Fodor said.
The event did attract non-law students as well who found the event incredibly impactful.
Hannah Shambro, a junior in the College of Health Sciences, said that this event was a nice surprise.
“I’ve never been to an event like this before, and I like how accessible it is to the community and you can meet new people, and how women empowered the event is,” Shambro said.
Shambro added that she feels that Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a very inspirational person.
“She stands as a beacon of hope for a lot of women, especially minorities, and she’s a strong presence, which I think a lot of women need.”
