The Brand Archetype Of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Born the year Hitler came into power in Germany. She grew up in the shadow of WW2. Her parents tried to shield her from the concentration camp images. She recalled that “nobody wanted to believe what was happening.”

She was one of only nine women in a class of more than 500 at Harvard Law School. Even though she was a top student, she could not get a job as a lawyer.

The first female tenured professor at Columbia Law School, and second woman appointed to the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is known for her work of moving the law in the direction of recognizing women’s equal citizens' stature as according to the constitution.

When she began her legal crusade in 1963, women were treated, by law, differently from men. Overturning hundreds of state and federal laws that restricted what women could do, for women in America, Ruth Bader Ginsburg represents the archetype of a hero.

The hero archetype is motivated by a challenge. They bring purpose, perseverance, and determination to the job of getting things done.

Level One: engaging with a challenge, competing and wanting to win, developing competence and mastery.

Level Two: competing, struggling, fighting the good fight, and/or doing your duty for your family, organization, community, or country.

Level Three: using your strength, competence, and courage for something that makes a difference to you and the world.

Who do you know that embodies the archetype of a hero?

How can young heroes learn from her experience and move their levels?

The hero archetype is one of the 12 archetypes in the CultureTalk Framework that I am now certified in. This framework provides a pathway for forming connections with people who have a different background than you. It also creates psychological safety for deeper human conversations that lead to actual change. Stay tuned for more on this from me.