Browse COBALT blog posts on equality for women here.
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), a proposed Constitutional amendment intended to invalidate many state and federal laws that discriminate against women; was first introduced to Congress in 1923.
It did not pass the U.S. Senate until 49 years later, in 1972.
Its underlying principle is that sex should not determine the legal rights of men or women, and it states that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex” and that “the Congress shall have the power to enforce the provisions of this article.”
Despite a deadline extension for state ratification in June 1982, was not ratified by the requisite majority of 38 states until 2020.
Although the ERA gained ratification of 30 states within one year of Senate passage, intense opposition from conservative religious and political organizations effectively brought ratification to a standstill. These 6 states subsequently voted to rescind ratification:
- Nebraska (1973)
- Tennessee (1974
- Idaho (1977)
- Kentucky (1978)
- South Dakota (1979)
- North Dakota (2021)
