the equal rights amendment (ERA), it’s women’s month! MARCH 2024
3/5/24
It’s Women’s History Month so let's look at some inequalities that we as women still face today. Did you know that women and men are NOT equal in the Constitution? Sex is not a protected class like race or religion is; in fact, legally it's in a class by itself
HISTORY
The ERA, or Equal Rights Amendment, which makes gender discrimination illegal, was written over 100 years ago by women's suffrage leader Alice Paul and was approved for ratification by the senate and house over 50 years ago. By 2020, the ERA had the 38th ratification necessary for it to become the 28th Amendment.
In 1920 women in America finally got the right to vote guaranteed to them in the Constitution, but that is the ONLY right we got. Paul recognized that women’s rights were NOT enshrined in the Constitution leading her to write the ERA which sought to give women the same basic rights as men -like the right to equal employment.
The gender pay gap is just one example of how women are still not equal in this country in 2024. Did you know that…
Moms are paid 58 cents for every dollar paid to dads.
Black women are paid 58 cents for every dollar paid to white men.
Native women are paid 50 cents for every dollar paid to white men.
Latinas are paid 49 cents for every dollar paid to white men.
Asian American and Pacific Islander women are paid 75 cents for every dollar paid to white men.
https://www.aauw.org/reso.../article/equal-pay-day-calendar/
LOCAL IMPACTS
When they’re legally allowed to charge women more for everything from razors to home loans, while also paying them less, the result is, unsurprisingly, a lot of homeless or inadequately housed women and children. Our chances of getting assaulted or worse go up exponentially - leaving those women and the kids who depend on them out in the cold more ways than one. How do we fix this? For starters we publish the fully ratified #ERA immediately. Gone goes the #paygap and the #pinktax that right there will put millions of Americans back in safe housing, mostly children.
WHAT CAN YOU DO
97% of Americans believe in rights for all, let's act like it. Tell the White House we demand equal rights- we want the ERA certified NOW.
Call the White House today at (202) 456-1111 and tell them that the 28th Amendment has been ready to go since 2020 - PASS THE ERA NOW!
Passing an ERA will put the full weight of the U.S. Constitution behind employment laws relating to the prevention of sex discrimination in hiring, firing, promotions, and benefits – especially in the public sector.
If the ERA passed and was included in the Constitution women could argue Dobbs in courts as baseless because it infringes on a woman’s constitutional rights.
Learn more! Netflix’s “Explained” series on the Racial Wealth Gap and the Equal Pay Gap provides a brief, but comprehensive overview of these issues.
