Jill Ruckelshaus
Jill Elizabeth Ruckelshaus (née Strickland; born 1937) is a former special White House assistant and head of the White House Office of Women's Programs and a feminist activist. She also served as a commissioner for the United States Commission on Civil Rights in the early 1980s. Currently, she is a director for the Costco Wholesale Corporation.
Jill Ruckelshaus | |
|---|---|
Ruckelshaus (left) with then First Lady Betty Ford (center front) on U.S. participation in International Women's Year, 1975 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jill Elizabeth Strickland February 19, 1937 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | William Ruckelshaus (m. 1962 died 2019) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Indiana University, Bloomington (BA) Harvard University (MA) |
Ruckelshaus is known for her role as a leading Republican advocate for feminist policies, such as the Equal Rights Amendment and women's reproductive choice, during the peak of political influence for second-wave feminism in the United States. For this, she was referred to as the "Gloria Steinem of the Republican Party" for her outspoken positions on women's issues. Her role in the movement, portrayed by Elizabeth Banks, was dramatized in the Mrs. America miniseries, with the sixth episode of the series in her name.