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letter
Following the Alzheimer's diagnosis of justice in retirement, a lawyer explains how to get advice ranging from the role women have to play in public life to the way they dress.
For the publisher:
Re "Pioneer calls to the court for courtesy in the face of illness" (first page, October 24):
I will never forget the day Sandra Day O'Connor called me. I was a young business law lawyer sitting conscientiously in my office and I had just proposed to her, by letter, an idea to create a new center for women judges that would help end the violence at home. women.
The phone rang and, to my surprise, I heard a logical voice: "Does it mean Kim Azzarelli? Because it's Judge O'Connor. And I think your idea is good! A few months later, in 2009, with her support, we launched the Avon Global Center for Women and Justice at Cornell Law School.
Over the next decade, Justice O'Connor was no longer an icon – the first woman on the Supreme Court, a model of intellectual rigor, unwavering fairness and strong character – as a dear mentor. I had the privilege of working with her on projects ranging from supporting women in the judiciary to iCivics, the digital civic education games she created for children, to the civil discourse through Sandra. Day O'Connor Institute.
Along the way, Judge O'Connor gave me advice on everything from solving the problem in Washington (less politics, more human relations) to what I had to wear when traveling (black pants , always). But two lessons I learned from her stand out above all else. One was that the woman's lens was essential to all areas of public life. The second was the importance of using one's power for a specific purpose.
Justice O'Connor's recent announcement of the diagnosis points out that no one, no matter how powerful, is immune to the Alzheimer's epidemic – and that women carry the double burden of the disease. Not only do women primarily care for people with Alzheimer's – as she was when she left the court to take care of her husband – but they are also more likely to be afflicted with the disease: two new patients out of three with Alzheimer's are women. Again The disproportionate impact of Alzheimer's disease on women remains under-examined and women scientists continue to be underrepresented in high-level research positions.
Despite the deep sadness of this week's news about Judge O'Connor, she remains true to form. Once again, she has chosen to use her power with determination, highlighting this devastating disease and shedding light on the crucial role that women can and must play if we are to solve the world's most intractable problems. they are medical, social or legal. And reminding us once again of her incredible character and why it is so appropriate that she is a "first".
Kim Azzarelli
New York
The writer is co-founder of Seneca Women and co-author of "Fast Forward: How Women Can Get Power and Purpose." She sits on the advisory board of the Women in Alzheimer Research Fund at the University of California, San Francisco.
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