Why did Sandra Day O'Connor have difficulty finding a job?

Answer 1

There were no private California law firms willing to hire Sandra Day O'Connor in the 1950s because being a woman was a liability at that time. One firm offered her a job as a legal secretary, an insult to someone who graduated near the top of her class at Stanford Law.

Sexism in private business hiring practices was a serious issue for women at that time, one that couldn't readily be addressed through litigation because there was no EEOC or anti-discrimination statutes prior to passage of the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s.

Justice O'Connor found work in the public sector (government) and as a civilian contractor for the military.