[6] 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.

[7] 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.

[9] Following the 1972 presidential election, Ruckelshaus served as an assistant to Anne Armstrong and head of the White House Office of Women's Programs.

[14] She was also one of the four representatives in the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations World Conference of the International Women's Year in Mexico City, which was from June 19 to July 2, in 1975.

[7][15][16] She resigned from her position as presiding officer in June 1976 as her family moved to Washington state, remaining as an ordinary member for the rest of the year.

[24][25] After the conference, she was named as one of the members of the President's National Advisory Committee for Women, co-chaired by Bella Abzug and Carmen Delgado Votaw.

[38][39] Within a month of her replacement and the reconstitution of the commission, the new members would reverse previous positions held by the old membership on affirmative action[40] and would become substantially more susceptible to the political whims of the presidency.

[42] Although unsuccessful in preserving her party's support for the ERA, she was part of a group of feminist women Republicans who secured a private commitment from then-nominee Ronald Reagan to appoint the first woman to the Supreme Court of the United States.