When the invitation went out recently from the Green Bag law journal to come up with new “top ten” rankings for the U.S. Supreme Court, Meg Penrose leapt at the chance to rate the court’s female justices.

Never mind that only four women have ever sat on the high court. Penrose, a professor at Texas A&M University School of Law, used the listing to underscore the dearth of female justices through history.