Pat Fili-Krushel is CEO of, a nonprofit think tank dedicated to helping companies design diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplaces where every person belongs.
Companies should step up to create the workplace that Ginsburg envisioned, but federal intervention is necessary too.When I started my career in the 1970s, you could get fired for being pregnant. Job listings were still categorized under Male and Female in the classified ads. If you wanted a media career , the only choice was to start as a secretary. A guy who was less qualified than I was got the better job, with not even lip service that there was anything wrong with this.
Companies are doing so much, in this moment, to commit to diversity, equity, and inclusion. They're stating that racial and gender justice are a priority. But. After all, looking back, time and again, companies had to be pulled out of the dark ages of discrimination, beginning with the Civil Rights Act. Federal laws — upheld by the courts — have driven the foundation of the diversity and inclusion movement.She knew firsthand about being underestimated and discriminated against.
The Supreme Court ruled that Ledbetter filed her complaints too late. In her dissent, Ginsburg called upon Congress to change the law, and she succeeded. That enabled millions of employees, of all backgrounds, to file for equal pay for equal work.