What could be more important than the equality of rights for all American citizens? Women have tried without success for 80 years to be acknowledged as equals in our Constitution through an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Currently there is nothing in the United States Constitution that guarantees a woman the same rights as a man. The only equality women have with men is the right to vote. In order to protect women’s rights on the same level as men, I am in favor of an Equal Rights Amendment to the U. S.
Constitution today.There have been many determined women and organizations such as the NASWA and the NWP that have fought long and hard to gain the right to vote. Although it’s been a long battle to get this amendment approved, women today need to keep the fight alive in order to continue to win equality with men on all levels. The Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced to Congress in 1923, shortly after women in the United States were granted the right to vote.
The amendment read “Men and Women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and in every place subject to its jurisdiction.Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. ” This amendment was immediately opposed by organizations and labor unions. The Amendment was continually introduced in Congress for the next twenty years with opposition from most conservatives ensuring its repeated defeat. In the 1930’s the amendment gained sponsorship from the National Association of Women’s Lawyers and the National Federal of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs.
By 1940 the Republican Party had placed it on their platform with the Democratic Party following suit in 1944.Alice Paul rewrote the Equal Rights Amendment in 1943 to include the statement “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. ” During this time the labor movement was still committed to protecting workplace laws and some conservatives thought equal rights for women would be a threat to the existing power structure. Even with the support of the two parties the ERA never came close to passing.Support for the bill increased during the 1950’s with President Eisenhower stating his support for “equal rights” for women.
During the 1960’s women began to demand their right as citizens and persons, and the Equal Rights Amendment became a central issue. Organized labor and a large number of mainstream groups joined in the fight for an Equal Rights Amendment. Politicians began to react to the organized women’s groups in their campaign for votes. The Equal Rights Amendment finally passed and was approved by the U.
S. Senate in March of 1972.It was then submitted to the state legislatures for ratification within seven years, but it was not ratified by the required 38 states. Although 30 states did approve the Amendment, within 1 year of the Senate’s approval, conservative religious and political organizations brought ratification to a standstill. These groups feared that the Amendment would deny women’s right to be supported by her husband, privacy rights would be overturned, women would be sent into combat, and abortion rights and homosexual marriages would be upheld.Opposition also surfaced from traditional groups.
Some states began to postpone consideration of the amendment, and others proposed or passed rescission bills despite the verbiage in the amendment stating that states did not have the power to retract; only Congress did. As the seven year ratification deadline approached, ERA advocates appealed to Congress for an indefinite extension. Congress bowed to public pressure and granted an extension until 1982. During the 1980’s the political tide turned more conservative and the Republican Party removed ERA support from its platform.Although pro-ERA activities increased with lobbying, petitioning, rallies, fundraisers, White House picketing and civil disobedience, the ERA was not successful in getting the additional state ratifications it needed before the deadline. The Equal Rights Amendment was reintroduced in Congress in July of 1982 and has been before every session of Congress since then, and there still has not been a majority ratification to add this Amendment to the U.
S. Constitution.After more than 200 years of living under the United States Constitution and despite all of the progress women have made, they still to this day continue to suffer discrimination in employment, insurance, health care, education, the criminal justice system, social security and pensions, and just about any other area you can name. Current laws to prevent sex discrimination just aren’t enough. The federal laws and regulations contain many loopholes and they are inconsistently interpreted, or even ignored.
Women who seek enforcement of these laws must not only convince the courts that discrimination has occurred, but that it even matters. An Equal Rights Amendment would not only guarantee equality, it would take the burden off women fighting discrimination and hold those who discriminate accountable. Another area where the current laws are inadequate deals with employment and salaries for women. Women are underpaid and undervalued in the workforce.In 2008, women were paid a median weekly salary of $654, where men were earning $825 weekly for doing the same job. 1) Jobs traditionally held by women remain at the lower end of the pay scale, while traditional men's jobs, even those having similar education requirements, time and effort on the job, are paid more.
One example involves the healthcare field. A woman registered nurse will earn more than 5% less than a male nurse (2). Another survey in 2008 found that male elementary school teachers earned 14% more than a female elementary school teacher (2). Issues of pay equity are not addressed by any federal laws.
An Equal Rights Amendment could remedy these and many other concerns of women in the workforce.The interference of a woman's right to control her own body and other forms of discrimination intrude on women's reproductive freedom. Despite the provision of Title VII, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act, pregnant women still face discrimination in the work place. Women on maternity leave, like employees who take sick leave, are not necessarily guaranteed job protection and reinstatement when they return to work.
Their jobs can be eliminated and the burden of proof requires evidence that the employer intended to discriminate (3).A key event happened in 1973 when the Supreme Court handed down the historic Roe v. Wade decision, distinguishing among the three trimesters of pregnancy, and legalized abortion in the first 3 months a matter of personal autonomy (4). Since that case a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy has been under continuous attack. Sex discrimination contributes significantly to the economic difficulty of older women. A lot of our nation’s elderly poor are women.
Older women have just over half the income of older men, and women of color have significantly less income than older white women.The poverty of older women is created by a lifetime of low wages intensified by sex discrimination in pensions, retirement insurance, and social security. Women are frequently required to pay higher insurance premiums than men for the same benefits. Sometimes they pay the same as men for less protection or benefits. The excuse for this discrimination is that insurance company tables show that more women than men live longer than average or have higher health costs.
Women are only half as likely as men to receive a pension, and those who do receive only half as much.Just 22% of women 65 and older reported having received pension income in 1992 based on previous employment, and those that did, received an average of $5,432 per year. In contrast, nearly half (49%) of men age 65 and older reported having received pension income in 1992 based on previous employment, with an average of $10,031 per year (5). Social Security also discriminates against women. The policies on which the system was founded in 1940 are reflective of the stereotypical role that women played during those years.
Few women were in the workforce and most of them spent their lives as married homemakers.Today, the number of women in the workforce has grown and the divorce rate has risen. Despite these radical changes in society, the Social Security system holds to the same sex-biased assumptions. Married men receive 100% of their benefits for a lifetime, and since homemakers' contributions to marriage partnerships are not valued fully, wives are considered dependents and because of this, receive lower payments. Widows receive only 72% of their deceased husband's benefits, and divorced women receive only half (6). Since Social Security is the sole income source for many older women, their policies are often devastating to women.
Many unmarried and older women depend on Social Security for a large portion of their income, with a lot of these women having no other source of income. As you can see, women today and women of the future need the Equal Rights Amendment to pass and become a part of our United States Constitution. It will guarantee and protect the rights of women without changing or degrading men. It could even possibly help men in the future. The addition of the ERA to our Constitution will guarantee that men will be equal with women in all areas of family law.
Fathers who feel their rights are being ignored by the family courts can call upon The Supreme Court. The ERA will provide rights to unwed fathers who want to support their children both financially and emotionally. Additionally, most automobile and life insurance policies require men of a given age to pay higher premiums than women of the same age. The ERA would prohibit this type of sex discrimination. With the Equal Rights Amendment, there would be a clearer judicial process for deciding cases of sex discrimination. The Amendment would not allow Congress to replace or weaken existing laws on women’s rights.
Women's participation in the labor force has increased dramatically, with more women employed outside the home today than ever before in history. With a steadily increasing majority of women employed, the numbers of women who are vulnerable to discriminatory employment practices based on sex has increased. The ERA is needed to help end governmental action that limits opportunities available to women throughout the labor force and to close loopholes in existing antidiscrimination laws to make it clear that public employment practices that discriminate against women are illegal.Ratification of the ERA will require that labor laws treat women and men equally and it would prohibit discrimination by public employers.
Under the ERA, the equal right of a married woman to own, possess, and manage marital property during marriage would be strengthened. The ERA would help women facing divorce by making the legal system operate more equitably. It would also give the courts a handle in deciding constitutional challenges to sex bias in public schools. Under the proposed Equal Rights Amendment, women would be assured the equal treatment in the military currently denied by the Federal Government.The number of American women serving in the armed forces today has increased dramatically.
These women, who have been shown to be as efficient and effective as their male counterparts, have suffered serious discrimination in their jobs. The ERA would make illegal the gender bias that remains in the military, which currently limits opportunities for women and the contribution they can make to our Nation. The ERA would have a positive effect on the judicial system in two very important ways. By stimulating legislative reform, it will help reduce the number of claims to be resolved in the courts.
Where compliance is not achieved through legislative reform, the amendment would give courts clearer guidance than what currently exists when deciding sex discrimination claims. An ERA would also provide mutual benefits for both men and women. It would increase everyone’s freedom of choice within our society. The ERA would mandate that women be paid equally with men for comparable work.
Thus when women are being paid fairly, the men married to these women would also benefit by no longer having to bear the responsibility of being the primary breadwinner.The ERA would demand that men be treated equally with women in the area of taking leave from work to raise children. Women who are married to men that can take leave to help raise the children will have more time to devote to their careers. As it is currently, if a mother can take a leave of absence to raise a child and the father cannot, the mother feels pressured to take time from her career to raise the child. The ERA would also demand equality in the divorce system.
Currently, when mothers receive sole custody in a divorce, it is hurting fathers, the children, and mothers.Fathers are being denied the emotional companionship and the access needed to develop a close relationship with their children. The sole custodial mothers are often expected to pursue a career and raise their children. In conclusion, I have provided the history of the Equal Rights Amendment and presented my reasons as to why I agree with the need for an ERA to the U.
S. Constitution today. I believe the current language of the Amendment adequately supports women’s rights should be viewed the way it is written which requires that both sexes be treated equally.
