Sandra Day O’Connor

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor began serving on the Supreme Court in 1981, unanimously approved by the Senate, and becoming the first female justice in history. She was known for her meticulously researched opinions, defying the sexist stereotype that women are “too emotional”, irrational, or not analytical enough to serve in high positions. In an NPR interview Sandra Day O’Connor described her job search after finishing law school. She was told by at least 40 law firms, that “we don’t hire women”, even though having graduated third in her class from Stanford. She was offered one job in that search as a legal secretary. In her first job she worked for a county attorney, with no pay and no office. This is not the only case of a highly educated, and strongly motivated competent woman having to innovate a way to access professional opportunities, in an environment of gross pay inequity. We often overlook, diminish, or may not be at all aware the route that successful women have had to take, and the persistence and creativity involved. <a href="https://medium.com/@GGWW/sandra-day-oconnor-1afa4f57e117">Read More</a>