Legal Scholar & Feminist Theorist; Author of "Sexual Harassment of Working Women"; Special Gender Advisor at International Criminal Court

Cambridge, MA, USA
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Catharine A. MacKinnon Biography

Catharine A. MacKinnon is a legal scholar and feminist theorist known for her contributions to sex equality law in the United States and internationally. MacKinnon graduated magna cum laude from Smith College and earned a law degree and a Ph.D. in political science from Yale University, where she created the first course in women's studies. She has taught at 12 law schools, including Yale, Stanford, Chicago, Osgoode Hall in Toronto, Columbia, and Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

MacKinnon is recognized for her argument that sexual harassment constitutes a form of sex discrimination. Her book, "Sexual Harassment of Working Women," defined the term and influenced courts, workers, and scholars to address sexual harassment as illegal sex discrimination. This framework shaped U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines and was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in "Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson," establishing sexual harassment as actionable discrimination. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg cited "Sexual Harassment of Working Women" as a foundational study for legal debates and social understanding of sex discrimination. Studies show that MacKinnon is among the most widely cited legal scholars in the English language.

Beyond her work on sexual harassment, MacKinnon has influenced law and policy on issues such as sexual abuse, pornography, prostitution, and international trafficking. With Andrea Dworkin, she recognized the harms of pornography as civil rights violations and proposed the Swedish Model to address prostitution. MacKinnon drafted language for the Palermo Protocol on international trafficking and contributed to anti-trafficking legislation in the United States. Representing Bosnian women survivors of Serbian genocidal sexual violence, she and co-counsel secured a damage award of $745 million in "Kadic v. Karadzic" under the Alien Tort Act, marking the first legal recognition of rape as an act of genocide. MacKinnon served as Special Gender Advisor to the first Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, where she implemented the concept of gender crime under the Rome Statute.

MacKinnon is the author of more than a dozen scholarly books, including "Sexual Harassment of Working Women," "Feminism Unmodified," "Toward a Feminist Theory of the State," "Only Words," "Women's Lives, Men's Laws," "Are Women Human?," the casebook "Sex Equality," and "Butterfly Politics." Her work is published in academic journals, the popular press, and multiple languages. MacKinnon has received honors such as the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women's Section of the American Association of Law Schools and election to the American Law Institute. She was selected for the Henry Phillips Prize in Jurisprudence, awarded only 29 times since 1895. MacKinnon's career demonstrates the impact of legal theory on workplace equality, gender discrimination, and international human rights law.

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 10/26/2026.

Catharine A. MacKinnon Videos

Law and Society with Catherine Mackinnon | RSA Teasers

Law and Society with Catherine Mackinnon | RSA Teasers

'It is not that law changes society because of the power it has, or because it is a form of force' - enjoy this powerful clip from Catherine...

The Butterfly Effect with Catharine MacKinnon

The Butterfly Effect with Catharine MacKinnon

The Butterfly Effect with Catharine MacKinnon. Under the right conditions, small simple actions can produce large complex effects. Pioneering lawyer...

Sex, Lies and Justice: Catharine MacKinnon and Ron Suskind

Sex, Lies and Justice: Catharine MacKinnon and Ron Suskind

On March 10, Ron Suskind, Pulitzer-winning journalist and Lecturer on Law, interviewed Catharine MacKinnon, a noted legal scholar and activist who...

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Catharine A. MacKinnon is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics. The estimated speaking fee range to book Catharine A. MacKinnon for your event is available upon request. Catharine A. MacKinnon generally travels from Cambridge, MA, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Heather Booth, Mónica Ramírez, Tarana Burke, Blair Imani and Caroline Heldman. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Catharine A. MacKinnon for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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