Congress established Women’s Equality Day in 1972 to commemorate the finalization of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which granted women the constitutional right to vote. The day also highlights the ongoing struggle for gender equality, central to which is the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).
First proposed in 1923, shortly after the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the ERA aims to make sex-based equality explicit in the U.S. Constitution. It would prohibit discrimination “on account of sex,” including against people of all genders, and empower Congress to enforce its provisions through appropriate legislation. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg noted that in cases of “legislative default,” courts could use the ERA as a basis for ensuring equal justice under law.
Currently, sex-based discrimination is addressed under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, as interpreted by landmark Supreme Court rulings such as Reed v. Reed (1971), Frontiero v. Richardson (1973), and United States v. Virginia (1996). However, this approach has not achieved the highest level of judicial scrutiny for sex discrimination that Justice Ginsburg sought.
The ERA would solidify constitutional protections against sex discrimination and establish a new category of judicial review for such cases. It would also provide a foundation for Congress to pass stronger laws protecting women and girls and signal a commitment to equality amid challenges like state attacks on reproductive rights and gender wage disparities.
Virginia became the 38th state needed to ratify the ERA in 2020, meeting Article 5 requirements for amending the Constitution. However, legal challenges and partisan opposition have stalled its adoption.
Introduced by suffragists Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman in 1923, Congress passed the ERA with bipartisan support in 1972 but included an arbitrary seven-year time limit for ratification in its preamble. This time limit was extended by three years but still fell short when only 35 states had ratified it by 1982.
Conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly led an anti-ERA movement that framed it as a threat to traditional gender roles. Her campaign contributed significantly to stalling further ratifications.
Despite this setback, Nevada and Illinois ratified the amendment in recent years before Virginia's crucial ratification in January 2020.
Once properly ratified amendments must be certified and published by the U.S. archivist—a process currently hindered by legal disputes over whether expired deadlines invalidate late ratifications.
In response to these disputes, organizations like the American Bar Association argue that time limits on constitutional amendments are inconsistent with Article V of the Constitution.
Legal battles continue over whether states can rescind their initial ratifications or if deadlines set outside Article V are valid. Efforts persist within Congress; resolutions introduced aim either to remove these deadlines or affirm that they are unnecessary.
The first-ever Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment was established during this period, highlighting ongoing legislative efforts toward finalizing its adoption as part of broader gender equality initiatives worldwide.
