During the contentious fall 2018 confirmation hearings for then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who faced numerous allegations of sexual misconduct, a common refrain among the left was that Kavanaugh’s addition to the court would be bad for women across the country — a triumph for the patriarchy, they said.
But that narrative was torn apart on Friday by none other than feminist icon, liberal heroine, and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who revealed in a speech just how good Kavanaugh’s addition to the high court has actually been for women.
Making history
Ginsburg’s remarks about fellow Justice Kavanaugh came during her address on Friday to a gathering of judges at the Second Circuit Judicial Conference in New York.
Ginsburg first noted in her speech that the court began the 2019 term in October short-handed due to the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. But they were soon back to a full bench after Kavanaugh was confirmed by the Senate.
The new junior justice then wasted no time in making history, according to RBG, who lauded Kavanaugh’s dedication to hiring women to his team.
“Justice Kavanaugh made history by bringing on board an all-female law clerk crew,” Ginsburg said. “Thanks to his selections, the court has this term, for the first time ever, more women than men serving as law clerks.”
However, Ginsburg noted: “Women did not fare nearly as well as advocates. Only about 21% of the attorneys presenting oral argument this term were female; of the 34 attorneys who appeared more than once, only 6 were women.”
For his part, Kavanaugh hired four female law clerks to work for him. One of those hires, Kim Jackson, had also clerked for Kavanaugh prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court.
Raising up women
During his heated confirmation hearings, Kavanaugh strenuously denied allegations of sexual misconduct lodged against him, and pointed to his lengthy record of hiring female clerks — many of whom went on to clerk for other justices at the Supreme Court — as proof that he seeks to build up women, not tear them down.
These assertions were supported by many of the women who had worked for and with Kavanaugh in the past.
“In my time on the bench, no federal judge — not a single one in the country — has sent more women law clerks to clerk on the Supreme Court than I have,” Kavanaugh told the Senate Judiciary Committee last fall, adding a vow that he would hire an all-female crew to clerk for him if confirmed.
And it seems Kavanaugh has made good on that promise, much to the delight of Ginsburg and feminists everywhere.
Looks like conservatives were right all along: Brett Kavanaugh isn’t so bad for women, after all.
