Marcia D. Greenberger, Co-President

Described as "guiding the battles of the women's rights movement" by the New York Times, Marcia Greenberger is the founder and Co-President of the National Women's Law Center. The creation of the Center forty years ago established her as the first full-time women's rights legal advocate in Washington, D.C.

A recognized expert on women and the law, particularly in the areas of education and employment, health and reproductive rights, and family economic security, Ms. Greenberger has been a leader in securing the passage of major legislation, counsel in landmark litigation establishing new legal protections for women, and the author of numerous published articles. Examples include the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1991 providing critical protections against sexual harassment on the job, and Supreme Court victories strengthening protections for students and teachers against sex discrimination in schools.

Her leadership and contributions are reflected in the professional honors she has received and the numerous boards on which she has served. She has been given the James Wilson Award and the Alumni Award of Merit from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Trustees’ Council of Penn Women "Beacon" Leadership Award, the American Bar Association Margaret Brent Award for 2012, the National Association of Women Lawyers' Arabella Babb Mansfield Award, and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Lafayette College as well as the Woman Lawyer of the Year Award by the D.C. Women's Bar Association and the William J. Brennan, Jr. Award by the District of Columbia Bar. Additionally, she has been recognized by Working Woman Magazine as one of the 25 heroines whose activities over 25 years have helped women in the workplace, by Washingtonian Magazine as one of Washington, D.C.'s most powerful women, by Legal Times as a "Top Lawyer" and one of its "30 Champions", and by Legal Times and The National Law Journal as one of "Washington's Most Influential Women Lawyers." She has received the Dr. Jane Evans Pursuit of Justice Award from Women of Reform Judaism, A Woman of Genius Award from Trinity College, the "21 Leaders of the 21st Century" Award from Womens eNews, and the Woman of Distinction Award from Soroptimist International of the Americas. She was elected to the Court of Honor of the Philadelphia High School for Girls, received the Hope Award from Calvary Women's Shelter and awards from the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association and the Center for Law and Social Policy. She received a Presidential appointment to the National Skill Standards Board, and currently serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

Ms. Greenberger received her B.A. with honors and J.D. cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania. She practiced law with the Washington, D.C., firm of Caplin and Drysdale before she started and became Director of the Women's Rights Project of the Center for Law and Social Policy, which became the National Women's Law Center in 1981.

Expert in: Abortion, Affirmative Action in Education, Affirmative Action in the Workplace, Emergency Contraception, Health Insurance, Issues Before the Courts, Pharmacy Refusals, Athletics, Barriers to Reproductive Care, Equal Pay and the Wage Gap, Judicial Nominations, Religious Restrictions, Treaty on the Rights of Women, Career & Technical Education, Family Planning, Supreme Court, Health Care Reform, Pregnant & Parenting Students, Women & the Constitution, Medicaid & Other Public Funding, School Reform & Dropout Prevention, Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, Pregnancy Rights, Sexual Harassment & Bullying, Report Card on Women's Health, Single Sex Education, Education & Title IX, Employment, Health Care & Reproductive Rights, Judges & the Courts, A Women's Agenda
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My Take

As Judge Sotomayor's Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings Approach...

Posted by Marcia D. Greenberger, Co-President | Posted on: June 26, 2009 at 09:34 pm

by Marcia Greenberger, Co-President, 
National Women's Law Center 

We at the National Women's Law Center, like you, care deeply about the Supreme Court. A few weeks ago, we invited you to become a part of the important upcoming Supreme Court nomination process by letting us know what issues matter to you and what you want to learn more about as we approach Judge Sotomayor's Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, which start on July 13.

We appreciate that you've let us know what you think, and are looking forward to continuing this conversation as we approach the hearings. 

As soon as we asked for your questions for Judge Sotomayor, we got a tremendous response. We received a wide variety of questions and comments, as would be expected, since the Supreme Court's decisions touch every aspect of women's lives in this country.

Many of your questions focused on the constitutional right to privacy, which prevents the government from interfering in decisions about whether to bear children and also protects many other aspects of Americans' daily lives, including keeping medical records private, living with members of one's family, and having consensual adult sexual relations. Many of you also wanted to ask Judge Sotomayor about her views on civil rights protections and protections against discrimination on the job and in school. 

Since you understand the wide range of issues that come before the Supreme Court, you also wanted to ask Judge Sotomayor about her views on combating violence against women and children; immigration; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights/marriage equality; the role of religion in judicial decision-making; health care reform; and foreign policy. You also wanted to know how she would approach interpreting the Constitution.

Some of the most frequently asked questions include:

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What Would You Ask a Supreme Court Nominee?

Posted by Marcia D. Greenberger, Co-President | Posted on: June 15, 2009 at 09:10 pm

by Marcia Greenberger, Co-President, 
National Women's Law Center 

In just a few short weeks, the Senate will hold hearings on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court.

The confirmation process — scheduled for the week of July 13, 2009 — will allow the Senate and the American people the opportunity to learn even more about this very impressive woman and jurist.

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Women Are Worrywarts... For Good Reason

Posted by
Marcia D. Greenberger, Co-President
Nancy Duff Campbell, Co-President
| Posted on: August 06, 2008 at 01:11 pm

by Nancy Duff Campbell & Marcia D. Greenberger, Co-Presidents
National Women’s Law Center

At the National Women’s Law Center, we have fought stereotypes about women for more than 35 years. Stereotypes that say girls aren’t good at sports and science. That women are better suited to serve coffee than to serve in the military. That women are too emotional to be in positions of power... to name just a few.

As we all know, those stereotypes are ridiculous. But it’s impossible not to notice that there are quite a few points where women and men differ in the poll results we’re releasing today. [There is a key area where women and men have similar views –- Roe v. Wade. Watch a video of Marcia discussing the surprising poll findings around this issue at the end of this post.]

Everyone is feeling the pinch of rising food, energy, education, and health care costs. Yet our new poll finds that women feel the impact of economic insecurity even more acutely than men do. Women are more likely than men to feel that they are falling behind economically, and are more likely than men to be worried and concerned about their future. Looking forward, just 27 percent of women –- compared with 35 percent of men –- feel very confident that they will be able to afford health care costs in the next few years.

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Tags: Child Care, Education & Title IX, Employment, Health Care & Reproductive Rights, Judges & the Courts, Poverty & Income Support, Tax & Budget | 6 comments

Our Health Care System Is Failing Too Many Women

Posted by Marcia D. Greenberger, Co-President | Posted on: July 08, 2008 at 01:39 pm

by Marcia D. Greenberger, Co-President
National Women’s Law Center 

Since 1972, the National Women’s Law Center has advocated on behalf of women and their families on many issues, including health care. Health care is critically important to women in a number of ways: in their roles as patients, as family health care decision makers, and as caregivers — both paid and unpaid.  Throughout their lives, women use more health care services than men. Women also represent the majority of the health care work force. 

Yet, our current health care system fails to meet the needs of far too many women — especially low-income women and women of color. Overall, 18 percent of women are uninsured. Almost a quarter of African American women (22.7 percent) are uninsured. More than one-third of Latinas (37.8 percent) are uninsured, over twice the rate of white women (16.9 percent).

But the system is also failing women who have health insurance. Women are more likely than men to have health coverage which has too many gaps and leaves them at great financial risk — 1 in 4 women says that she is unable to pay her medical bills. The high cost of care means women are more likely than men to delay or go without needed health care. And then there was the recent press coverage about women who find themselves being denied health insurance because they had the audacity to have a Caesarean section! 

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Tags: Health Care & Reproductive Rights | 1 comment