E.R.A: The Past and Future of the Equal Rights Amendment

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In August of 1920, the 19th Amendment was officially ratified, allowing white American women to vote [1]. However, female voices, specifically those of women of color, are still seriously underrepresented, under-respected, and unprotected in American politics today. Here we are, almost 100 years later, without any federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex (or discrimination on the basis of gender identity, as would be more appropriate now). Though much work remains, we as a society have begun to recognize how language and action that uphold the gender binary erase so many individuals who do not identify as a woman or a man. They deserve to be treated equally as well.  

The efforts for an amendment guaranteeing equal rights on the basis of sex began as early as 1923 -- just three years after women gained the right to vote nationally-- but the proposal fell flat for decades [2]. It became a topic again in 1972, when the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was passed by the Senate in a landslide (84 voted in favor, 8 voted against) and pressed into the hands of individual states, 38 of which would have to ratify the Amendment for it to become law. The ERA gained support and achieved ratification in 30+ states within a year, but fell 3 states short of becoming a reality. The deadline for ratification was extended to 1982, but by then the ERA had only 35 states on its side [3], five of which (Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Nebraska, and South Dakota) withdrew their approval before the deadline [4]. 

Oddly,  a sudden movement breathed new life into the ERA, when Nevada, Illinois, and Virginia ratified the bill in 2017, 2018, and 2020 respectively 35 years after its ratification deadline [5]. It’s hard to say what exactly spurred the action in Nevada and Illinois, but then-President of the National Organization for Women Toni Van Pelt suggested that the rise of the #MeToo movement (originally founded by Tarana Burke in 2006 to connect women of color who have experienced sexual abuse [6]) reintroduced the necessity of legal protection for women to the conversation [7]. This also may have indirectly inspired the final ratification in Virginia, where more women than ever were elected to serve Virginia constituents in November of 2019 [8]. Critics argued that all of these efforts were in vain since the deadline had expired, but House Democrats (and five Republicans) recently rejected that by voting to extend the deadline on February 13, 2020 [9]. However, an extended deadline does not eliminate all remaining roadblocks. States that backed out of the ERA more than 40 years ago have filed lawsuits to ensure that their rejection upholds, and those who have newly ratified the amendment filed opposing suits, hoping to be the final push in guaranteeing the addition of the ERA to our Constitution [10]. Many Republicans have opposed the ERA. Some cited the 14th Amendment as adequate protection for all citizens, and others cited abortion issues, claiming that the ERA exists only to advance abortion rights [11]. 

Frankly, it is disappointing to see opposition to something so simple as equal rights this late in the game, and it should be considered political suicide. When it doesn’t cause uproar for a politician to blatantly oppose equality, what does it tell us about how we value the women in our society and in our lives? Nobody should have to prove that they deserve to be treated equally, but women have done so one thousand times over. Women have been killing the game since the beginning of time and are ultimately responsible for so many breakthroughs and progress in various fields, but still have to fight for the recognition they deserve, even from their own government. The passing of the late Katherine Johnson, whose work, along with the work of Dorothy Vaughuan and Mary Jackson, inspired the 2016 blockbuster hit “Hidden Figures” that chronicled these women’s essential roles in launching John Glenn into orbit [12], has inspired conversation about powerful women and the incredible work they do. When many flocked to the internet to express their sorrow at Johnson’s passing and their thankfulness for all she accomplished, NASA, too, tweeted a statement, promising that she would “never be forgotten.” The intentions may have been pure, but the statement prompted Twitter user @yungaccident to write “NASA talking about hidden figures as if they, not the one that hid them.” 

There is still much left to do. In lawmaking and activism, we sometimes have no choice but to accept what we’re given (even if what we’re given is imperfect) and keep fighting for better. That said, the Equal Rights Amendment is long overdue. However, an update may be in order that includes the legal protection of those who do not conform to the gender binary. It begs the question: would an updated version of the amendment be possible, or would it require us to start from scratch? If any change to the ERA (albeit one to make it more inclusive) would put us back at square one, is this a scenario in which we are better off settling and then continuing to fight for the rights of those who are left out? Regardless, the ERA would serve as a crucial first step towards taking pride in the accomplishments of strong women of this country instead of hiding them. 

  1. Chappell, Bill. “One More to Go: Illinois Ratifies Equal Rights Amendment.” National Public Radio, 2018. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/31/615832255/one-more-to-go-illinois-ratifies-equal-rights-amendment 

  2. Sullivan, Patricia. “US House Removes ERA Ratification Deadline, One Obstacle to Enactment.” Washington Post, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/us-house-removes-era-ratification-deadline-one-obstacle-to-enactment/2020/02/13/e82aa802-4de5-11ea-b721-9f4cdc90bc1c_story.html 

  3. Chappell, Bill. “Virginia Ratifies The Equal Rights Amendment, Decades After The Deadline.” National Public Radio, 2020. https://www.npr.org/2020/01/15/796754345/virginia-ratifies-the-equal-rights-amendment-decades-after-deadline 

  4. “GOP Attorneys General Seek to Block Equal Rights Amendment.” Associated Press, 2020. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/gop-attorneys-general-seek-to-block-equal-rights-  amendment 

  5. Chappell. “Virginia Ratifies The Equal Rights Amendment, Decades After the Deadline.”

  6. Harris, Aisha. “She Founded #MeToo. Now She Wants to Move Past the Trauma.” The New York TImes, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/arts/tarana-burke-metoo-anniversary.html 

  7. Chappell. “One More to Go: Illinois Ratifies Equal Rights Amendment.”

  8. Chappell. “Virginia Ratifies The Equal Rights Amendment, Decades After The Deadline.”

  9. Sullivan. “US House Removes ERA Ratification Deadline, One Obstacle to Enactment.”

  10. Associated Press. “GOP Attorneys General Seek to Block Equal Rights Amendment.”

  11. Sullivan. “US House Removes ERA Ratification Deadline, One Obstacle to Enactment.”

  12. Bartels, Megan. “Katherine Johnson of Hidden Figures Fame Dies at 101.” Scientific American, 2020.  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/katherine-johnson-of-hidden-figures-fame-dies-at-101/ 





























Women In PoliticsEmmy SnyderFall 2020Comment