Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s legacy & historic impact on personal finance

Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG) was revolutionary in helping women have the ability to do things we take for granted that used to be considered a “privilege.” Recently, I was included in a Yahoo Money article highlighting the critical advancements made during RBG’s career.

Ginsburg was instrumental in making it illegal for colleges to discriminate against women on the basis of gender for admittance. Colleges used to be able to decline female applicants, which inhibited a woman’s ability to advance their career by getting an education. Now, we as women aren’t subject to this ripple effect of gender discrimination for education, starting and advancing a career, and meeting the full earning potential like our male counterparts.

From an employment and earning potential standpoint, employers can no longer discriminate against women if they are pregnant or if they have children. This prevents discrimination against females for having kids or being within “child bearing ages,” which used to be a real issue. Before RBG, women could be fired for being pregnant or having children, which inhibited their earning potential. With this anti-discrimination legislation in place, women don’t have to worry about losing their earning potential or not being hired for a position because of their desire to expand their family.

Finally, before RBG, a woman needed a man – usually a father or husband – to sign off on having a bank account, credit card, or loan in their name. This is something we take for granted today, but women didn’t always have the ability to obtain a line of credit on their own. Now, women have the ability to access credit, get a mortgage, and maintain their financial independence.

These are just a few of RBG’s noteworthy accomplishments for creating equality in personal finances, and we should all be very thankful for how revolutionary she was for women.