The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was proposed in 1923 to grant women equal rights to men in the workplace and society. It was reintroduced in the 1970s but failed to gain enough support for full ratification. Changing the Constitution is a difficult process, requiring support from a majority of Congress and 38 states. The ERA has only been ratified by 35 states and is not yet a federal law. The amendment was written by suffragette Alice Paul to protect women from sex-based discrimination under federal law. Opposition and controversy have hindered ratification, and some states have their own Equal Rights Amendments.
The Equal Rights Amendment, also commonly referred to simply as the ERA, is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would grant women the same rights as men in the workplace and in society as a whole. It was first proposed in 1923 as a follow-up to the 19th amendment. That amendment, ratified in 1920, guaranteed women the right to vote but granted no other rights. Advocates at the time felt that greater protections were needed to ensure women’s equal place in American society. The ERA initially received a very strong response, but did not get enough support to achieve full ratification. It was reintroduced in the 1970s and again started strongly but fell once again when not enough states signed on. It has been reintroduced in Congress every year since 1982, and 35 states have incorporated it into their laws. However, it is not yet a federal law.
Understand the constitutional amendment process
In the United States, the Constitution is a document that establishes the laws, rights and privileges of citizens. It was written in 1787 with seven “articles,” or principal provisions; it has since been modified, or added to, more than twenty times. Each amendment is typically numbered and, once adopted by states, becomes law.
Changing the Constitution is not an easy process. Lawmakers, typically members of Congress, begin by drafting a proposal or formally endorsing a proposal, usually from one of their constituents. That proposal must first win the support of a majority of members of the House of Representatives, and then it is sent to a vote in the Senate. From there, it is up to each individual state to incorporate the provisions into their specific state laws. State adoption is where many amendments run into problems, even if they’ve cleared every other hurdle. For an amendment to be ratified and made national law, 38 of the 50 states must implement it affirmatively. In the case of the Equal Rights Amendment, only 35 states have adopted its provisions, meaning it is not an official part of US law.
Ancient history and redaction
The ERA was written in 1921 by suffragette Alice Paul and formally introduced in Congress in 1923. Historians say Paul and his supporters drafted the amendment as a reaction to the 1920 ratification of the 19th amendment, which guaranteed the right to vote of a woman. Paul believed an additional amendment was needed to protect women from all forms of sex-based discrimination under federal law. While the 14th Amendment guarantees equal protection for all citizens, it is rarely enforced by the courts in sex discrimination cases.
The ERA was introduced in every session of Congress starting in 1923 until it passed both houses in 1972. However, it has not, nor today, received enough support in the states to become binding law.
Ratifies
Once the ERA was passed by Congress, the process of ratification by state legislatures began. Many states moved quickly to ratify the amendment, but the pace of ratification slowed after 1973. By 1979, Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, Tennessee, and South Dakota had reversed their initial adoption of the proposal’s provisions. Ultimately, supporters of the amendment failed to get ratification in the necessary 38 states by the 1982 deadline. It remains possible for Congress to repeal or amend the ERA deadline and declare existing state ratifications valid.
Continuing opposition and controversy
Ratification of the ERA has been opposed by several groups over the years. New Dealers argued that women demanded additional legal protections that the ERA would nullify, for example, and many unions didn’t want to lose labor regulations that preserved employment for women. In 1983, several members of Congress called for the ERA to be rewritten to include anti-abortion neutral language so that the amendment could not be used to grant or deny abortion rights and funding.
While the ERA has not yet become a federal law, many states provide partial or full protection against discrimination based on sex in state constitutions. Some states such as Wyoming entered the Union in the late 19th century with constitutions that included equal protection for male and female residents. Other states such as California limit the protection of equal rights to education and employment. Various states with Equal Rights Amendments in their constitutions, such as Florida and Virginia, have yet to ratify the exact language of the Equal Rights Amendment.
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