Breaking Barriers: Sandra Day O'Connor was the First Woman to Serve on the US Supreme Court

By Laura Duncan on 03/10/2011 @ 01:22 PM

Did you know? Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman to serve in the Supreme Court.

Sandra Day O’Connor was born in 1930 in El Paso, Texas. She spent much of her childhood in her parent’s Lazy B Cattle Ranch in Arizona, and had no running water or electricity until she was seven years-old. She attended Stanford University, majoring in Economics, and later went on to Stanford Law School, where she graduated third in her class. Despite her highly qualified academic background, because of her gender O’Connor had difficulty finding a job, and was even offered a position as legal secretary.

O’Connor worked a series of jobs in public service, private practice and even took a five year period off to raise her children and engage in voluntary activities. Afterwards, she was nominated by the governor of Arizona to fill a vacant Senate seat. Even though she only spent two years in the Senate, her skills led her to be chosen as majority leader. After her period in Congress, O’Connor decided to return to the judicial branch and was elected to the Maricopa County Superior Court. In 1979, she was nominated to the Arizona Court of Appeals.

In 1981, O’Connor was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan. Although she was considered one of the conservative members of the Court during Chief Justice Rehnquist’s era, O’Connor held unique views in issues such as abortion and affirmative action, and was known for her moderation and ability at coalition-building. In 2005, O’Connor retired from the Court in order to spend more time with her husband, who was suffering from early stages of Alzheimer’s.

Of the 111 Justices to serve on the Supreme Court, only 4 have been women. This means that 96.4% of all Justices in the United States have been men. We honor Sandra Day O’Connor for breaking the barrier and paving the way for other female justices. Currently three women serve on the bench: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Elena Kagan.

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