Supreme Court Decisions and Women's Rights : Milestones to Equality

Since the publication of the first edition of Supreme Court Decisions and Women’s Rights in 2000, there have been significant developments both in the make up of the Court and the rulings it has issued. The past decade saw the departure of highly revered Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and the historic appointment of the first Latina woman, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Over that same time period, there have been several important decisions affecting gender law, including:

Gonzales v. Carhart (2007), which upheld the federal ban on partial-birth abortion signed by President Bush in 2003. 

Ledbetter v. Goodyear Rubber & Tire Co. (2007) found that too much time had lapsed for former-Goodyear employee Lilly Ledbetter to seek back wages for the years she received discriminatory lower pay. 

AT&T Corp. v. Hulteen (2009) held that companies that discriminated against pregnant women employees prior to passage of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, could carry that discrimination over into calculating pension pay.

Featuring more than 100 cases and updated biographies, Supreme Court Decisions and Women’s Rights provides a complete study of all the important issues and movements involving the Supreme Court and the role it plays in shaping women’s rights.

Clare Cushman is director of publications for the Supreme Court Historical Society, a private nonprofit organization dedicated to the collection and preservation of the history of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Society accomplishes its mission by conducting educational programs of interest to legal practitioners, scholars, and the general public by supporting historical research; by publishing books, journals,
and electronic materials; and by collecting antiques and artifacts related to the Court’s history.