Last year, I was in a Women’s and Gender Studies class and the professor started talking about the Equal Rights Amendment. Sitting in a class full of Women’s Studies majors who were mostly women, hardly anyone had ever heard of this. So when my professor told the class that we as women don’t have equal rights according to the law, everyone was astonished. I was confused, surprised, and beyond pissed off. I didn’t understand how this was the first time I heard women are not seen as equal by the government and I was livid because how can our rights not be as important as a man’s? I would be naïve to say that women are treated equally today in this country but I always believed I had mostly equal rights. So what is the Equal Rights Amendment and why does it matter?
*This is in no way meant to express political views or any of those shenanigans, I just want my rights :)*
The History
Thankfully, our country came to its senses and created the 15th Amendment to protect discrimination by race, when it comes to the law. However, there were no laws in the Constitution that specifically protect discrimination based on gender or sex. This infuriated our power move-making female ancestors who had just fought for women’s right to vote. Two suffragists proposed the Equal Rights Amendment to Congress in 1923, which stated the “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” This wasn’t given any real government attention until the 1970’s when the Senate approved the ERA, which would start the ratification process. So basically the Senate sent the Amendment out to all the states to be approved, which then would make it a federal law in the Constitution if 38 states approved. However, only 35 states ratified at the time and two more in recent years, making the total 37. Don’t worry, Kansas is a real one and was the 6th state to ratify.
Why does it matter?
Since women’s right to full equality is not ever mentioned in the Constitution, this allows discrimination based on sex to be federally legal. This law would guarantee women equal rights in court cases surrounding equal pay, sexual harassment/assault, divorce, reproductive rights, and sex discrimination. Without the federal protection of women’s rights, many women have lost cases or had to endure long, expensive trials. 25 of the states that ratified have made laws to protect women’s rights but the federal law would protect women’s equality for the whole country. It is going to take a long time for women to truly become socially equal but at least women should be legally equal.
Women power!
A poll was done by the ERA Coalition/Fund for Women’s Equality that showed 80% believe men and women are assured equal rights in the U.S Constitution. Even starting a conversation about the ERA and women’s equality can make a difference. Only one more state has to ratify the amendment so let’s make some change ladies! Don’t let the law or the way people treat you lessen your self-worth. We still have the power to make change even if it is something as little as starting the conversation of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Sources:
https://www.equalrightsamendment.org