What Is the Equal Rights Amendment? The Century-Long Battle to Write Women into the Constitution

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed constitutional amendment designed to explicitly guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. While modern readers might view terms like “persons” or “citizens” in the original Constitution as gender-neutral, lawmakers and courts historically understood them as applying almost exclusively to men, leaving women without foundational legal protections. Though first introduced over a century ago, the recognition of the ERA as the 28th Amendment remains fiercely contested in American law today.

Who Created the ERA and Why?

Suffragist and women’s rights leader Alice Paul drafted the original Equal Rights Amendment in 1923, shortly after women won the right to vote. Paul recognized that voting was only a single step toward true independence, as women still faced overwhelming legal barriers in property ownership, employment, and marriage.

At the time, the ERA sparked intense debate even within the movement. Activists like labor pioneer Rose Schneiderman fought to protect hard-won labor laws that shielded female workers from dangerous factory conditions and forced overtime. Opponents feared an absolute equality amendment would wipe out these gender-specific protections, while Paul argued that special protections only reinforced women’s status as second-class citizens.

To understand the social rules of this era, read more about The Doctrine of Separate Spheres.

The 1970s Movement & Why It Was Put on Hold

Riding the wave of second-wave feminism, Congress officially passed the ERA in 1972 with massive bipartisan support and sent it to the states for ratification.

However, Congress attached a 7-year deadline requiring 38 states to ratify the amendment by 1979.

Anti-ERA campaigns quickly organized, warning that the amendment would eliminate male-only military drafts, jeopardize traditional stay-at-home mothers, and strip away gender-segregated spaces.

Momentum ground to a halt at 35 states (three short of the required total), causing the amendment to fall into legal limbo when the extended 1982 deadline expired.

For more on how earlier generations fought for legal recognition, explore Equal Under the Law: Married Women’s Property Acts in the United Kingdom and The Seneca Falls Convention: The Spark That Ignited the Suffrage Movement.

Where Does the ERA Stand Today?

In a historic revival, Nevada (2017), Illinois (2018), and Virginia (2020) voted to ratify the ERA decades later, finally reaching the 38-state milestone.

Despite hitting the requirement, the ERA remains stuck in court battles. Opposition groups argue that Congress’s original 1982 deadline expired, and five states have attempted to rescind their original ratifications.

Because of these disputes, the federal Archivist has not officially published the ERA in the Federal Register. Advocates and organizations like the American Bar Association continue fighting in federal court to recognize the ERA as the valid 28th Amendment to the Constitution.

Learn more about the vocabulary of equality in Suffragist vs Suffragette: What’s the Difference? or see how other movements made their mark in The Role of Women In the 1963 March on Washington.

Sources & References

• Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Coalition. “The History of the Equal Rights Amendment.”
• National Women’s History Museum. “Alice Paul and the Fight for Equal Rights.”
• U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. “Constitutional Amendment Process and the ERA.”
• American Bar Association. “Resolution on the Equal Rights Amendment”.