Women of the Supreme Court

Women of the Supreme Court, written by Cynthia Kennedy Hensel.

《最高法院的女性们》，作者辛西娅·肯尼迪·亨塞尔。

Men and Women are Equal For Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 1971 was an important year. She was a lawyer for a case going to the U .S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court protects our rights by deciding whether laws follow the guidelines created by the U .S. Constitution. In Ginsberg's case, the court would decide if women were equal to men under the law. This important case was called Reed vs. Reed.

对露丝·巴德·金斯伯格而言，1971年是关乎男女平等的重要一年。 她代理了一桩将提交至美国最高法院审理的案件。 最高法院通过裁定法律是否符合美国宪法设定的准则，以此保障我们的权利。 在这起案件中，法院需要裁定法律层面上女性是否与男性平等。 这桩重要案件就是《里德诉里德案》。

At that time, few women were let into law schools. Because Ginsburg had a young daughter, she had lost a chance to be a law clerk on the Supreme Court. At a new job, her pay was reduced because she was pregnant. Yet men did not lose jobs or pay if they had children. Ginsburg believed that women and men should be treated equally in school, at work, and under the law.

在那个年代，很少有女性能被法学院录取。 因为要抚养年幼的女儿，金斯伯格错失了最高法院书记员的工作机会。 换新工作后，她还因为怀孕被降了薪水。 可那时就算男性有了孩子，也不会丢工作或是被降薪。 金斯伯格坚信，无论在学校、职场还是法律面前，男女都该得到平等对待。

In Reed v. Reed, Ginsburg and others talked about the 14th Amendment. That amendment was added to the Constitution after the U .S. Civil War to protect the rights of people who had been enslaved. At that time, few people cared about the rights of women. Ginsburg argued in Reed v. Reed that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution also protected women from discrimination. Since an Idaho law favored men over women, she argued that the state law was illegal.

在里德诉里德案中，金斯伯格和其他人援引了第十四修正案。 这条修正案是美国内战后加入宪法的，原本用来保护曾被奴役人民的权利。 那个时候，很少有人关心女性的权利。 金斯伯格提出，宪法第十四修正案同样保护女性不受歧视。 爱达荷州的一条法律偏袒男性，因此她主张这部州法是不合法的。

The Supreme Court agreed with Ginsburg. For the first time, they decided that the 14th Amendment did indeed protect women's rights. After this decision, other laws that discriminated against women were also fought and also changed. No longer could women be denied education and jobs because they were women.

最高法院认可了金斯伯格的主张。 这是最高法院首次裁定，第十四修正案的确保护女性的权利。 这次判决后，其他歧视女性的法律也接连被质疑修改。 女性再也不会因为自己的性别被剥夺受教育和工作的机会了。

a cowgirl for justice. Since the start of the Supreme Court in 1790, its justices had always been men. 10 years after Reed versus Reed, Sandra Day O 'Connor became the court's first female justice. Sandra grew up on a ranch in Arizona. She rode horses and was treated like one of the boys. After going to law school though, She found that no one would hire a female lawyer. So O 'Connor opened her own law office.

维护正义的女牛仔。 自1790年最高法院成立以来，大法官一直都是男性。 里德诉里德案过去十年后，桑德拉·戴·奥康纳成为了最高法院第一位女性大法官。 桑德拉在亚利桑那州的一个牧场长大。 她会骑马，从小就被当成男孩一样对待。 可法学院毕业后，她发现没有律所愿意聘请女律师。 于是奥康纳自己开办了一家律师事务所。