Remembering Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | How Being Kind Helps Your Career | And More

Plus: how women’s money choices can change the world

What did Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg mean to you? What piece of her legacy have you found yourself reflecting on the most this week?

You could say you love how she knew that motherhood was her super power in law school; you might aspire to the partnership she shared with her husband Marty, that you’ll never forget how they served as a shining example for what can happen when a man is not afraid to let his greatest accomplishment be to have supported his wife.

You could say you admire Ginsburg's shrewd 1970’s legal strategy to expose the ways gender inequality hurts everyone, not just women, and how in so doing she gave women the right to serve in a jury, to receive equal opportunities—in both work and life. You might even want to emulate the way she served as a shining example for how to honor the women on whose shoulders we stand. (You could, like me, just say: all of the above.)

“The Notorious RBG” meant so much to so many. This was obvious from the outpouring of grief on social media Friday night, but also in the makeshift memorials that popped up around New York City and Washington D.C. over the weekend. I went to one such memorial at Columbia University (it was her alma mater; she was its first female tenured law professor) on Sunday afternoon, and saw that someone had set out yellow legal pads so that anyone who wanted to could leave a note in honor of the late Justice. “I don’t know how you did it," read one, "but I am so grateful you did.”

In gratitude,

Maggie

More Reading On RBG

On Wednesday, Ginsburg returned to the Supreme Court for the last time; her casket will lie in repose there before being moved to the U.S. Capitol building on Friday. There, she will make history once more, becoming the first woman to lie at the Capitol in state. (Civil rights activist Rosa Parks became the first woman to lie there "in honor," a designation for private citizens, in 2005.)

New York mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that the Brooklyn Municipal Building will be named after RBG. The late Justice was born in Brooklyn.

Shortly before she passed away, Ginsburg dictated a statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera: "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed." But this week, Utah Senator Mitt Romney all but assured a confirmation hearing for her replacement will occur this year. 

Who might take the 9th chair on the Supreme Court bench? Joan Larsen, a federal appeals court judge from Michigan with solid conservative credentials, is one of the women on the president’s shortlist of candidates. So is Amy Coney Barrett, a Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals judge.

ICYMI: The Other Stories From The Week

On Wednesday, a Kentucky grand jury brought no charges against Louisville police for the death of Brianna Taylor, who was killed in a no-knock raid in March. One officer was charged with three counts of “wanton endangerment,” for firing into Taylor’s neighbors’ apartments.

Salesforce, Patagonia and 26 other companies sent an open letter to members of Congress on Tuesday calling for passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which would clarify and strengthen existing federal protections and help ensure that employers provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers.

The Crown Estate reported last week that Queen Elizabeth has taken a $700 million decline in property value amid the post-lockdown U.K. landscape.

A new book by Forbes senior editor Dan Alexander reveals the Chinese government granted 41 trademarks to companies linked to Ivanka Trump by April of 2019—and the trademarks she applied for after her father became president got approved about 40% faster than those she requested before his victory in the 2016 election.

Almost 84% of women in rural India depend on agriculture for their livelihood, but as Covid lockdowns have sent more people away from city centers and to rural areas, competition for farming jobs is up, and these women’s wages are hurting as a result.

Check List

#1: Be kind. Science now proves what we’ve been telling each other for years: being a jerk isn’t just bad human behavior, it’s bad for your career, too.

#2: Flip the script. When you’re feeling overwhelmed by a responsibility or project, resist the urge to frame the situation negatively. Instead, focus on the positive.

#3: Take the blinders off. If you make good money but find yourself in credit card debt, make sure you’re not ignoring the situation. Instead, start by making a list of the debt you owe and the interest rate each piece carries.

Across Forbes