In a 2019 Cosmopolitan article, American actress Alyssa Milano was quoted, saying “It’s 2019 and I still don’t have equal rights under the Constitution. Neither do any of you, the nearly 162 million women across the U.S.” Fast forward a year: its 2020 and women still don’t have these equal rights. So the question of the hour is what exactly is the Equal Rights Amendment, and why are we talking about it right now? The short answer to this hot button topic is that women don’t currently have equal protection under the U.S. Constitution. According to a New York Times article, “By some estimates, 80 percent of Americans mistakenly believe that women and men are guaranteed equal rights.” However, the only right the Constitution allows for both men and women is the right to vote.
Photo Courtesy of: Time
Rewind to 1923. Alice Paul, an American suffragist, feminist and women’s rights activist who fought for equality after the 19th ammendment passed, created the proposition of the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment). The ERA, in basic terms, is a revision to our U.S. Constitution that was proposed to Congress in order to guarantee legal rights for all citizens, regardless of one’s sex. The ERA would also require states to intercede in cases of gender violence including sexual harassment and domestic violence. Additionally, it would federally guarentee equal pay, and would also guard against discrimination against mothers and pregnant women. While this issue may seem to only pertain to women, it is an intersectional issue as well.
Photo Courtesy of: League of Women Voters of Lake County
While the ERA was first proposed in 1923 and passed by Congress in 1972, it needed to be ratified by 38 states to be added to the Constitution. On January 15th, 2020, Virginia became the 38th state to approve the Equal Rights Amendment. This an enormous victory for those who have been pushing for a constitutional guarentee of legal rights regardless of sex. But here’s the catch: Virginia’s decision does not mean that the amendment will automatically be added to the U.S. Constitution. The deadline for the three-quarters (38) of the 50 states needed to approve the ERA expired in 1982. According to the New York Times, the “future of the measure is uncertain, and experts said the issue would likely be tied up in the courts and in the political sphere for years.”
Overall, in terms of the Constitution and the equality that it guarantees, it applies only to what the government does. The Constitution does not protect citizens from harms committed by private individuals or organizations. On the other hand though, laws that discriminate against women are unconstitutional. In total, while this is definitely something to be celebrated, we still have huge strides to make. This is another advancement, but the real outcome is still yet to be determined by court officials.
Photo Courtesy of: Cosmopolitan
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/us/equal-rights-amendment-what-is-it.html