Alice Paul
Congress passed the ERA in 1972 and required that the measure be ratified by 38 states within seven years. The deadline was
Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm
extended to 1982. Between 1972 and 1982, 35 states voted to end discrimination on the basis of sex. In June 1982, Congress refused to extend the deadline because 38 states had not ratified the ERA. Since then, a new constitutional amendment with the same ERA language and no deadline has been introduced in every Congressional session. Despite its introduction, the ERA has not received a hearing. Guess what happens when women’s equal rights are not protected across all 50 states and under the U.S. Constitution?
Here are a few examples.
- Law affecting women are arbitrarily and inconsistently applied.
- Outcomes on gender discrimination cases vary because the judicial system does not have a clear benchmark for issuing rulings.
- Gender-related legislation that has taken many years to become U.S. law can be reversed overnight by a single vote or denied necessary appropriations.
The Digital Sisterhood Network supports women’s equal rights and the advocacy work of United 4 Equality, LLC, a Washington, D.C. based grassroots coalition of citizens, nonprofits, and corporations committed to outlaw sex discrimination by the passage of the ERA in three additional states in order to reach the 38 states required by the U.S. Constitution. Carolyn Cook established United 4 Equality, LLC in March 2010. Watch a video of her below.
Photo Credit: http://www.united4equality.com
In an effort to support United 4 Equality’s ERA 2015 Campaign, the Digital Sisterhood Network launched its own ERA 2015 Awareness Campaign on #DigitalSisterhood Wednesdays in June 2011. Each Wednesday, the Digital Sisterhood Network tweeted about the importance of the ERA and United 4 Equality’s ERA 2015 Campaign. Twitter parties were held on June 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29. See sample tweets below.
Sample ERA2015 Tweets for June 2011 #DigitalSisterhood Wednesday Twitter Parties:
- Support @united4equality’s #ERA2015 http://bit.ly/lEXhC5
- Learn more abt @united4equality & the #ERA2015 http://bit.ly/jiTIhb
- Ways to support #ERA2015 Campaign to preserve women’s rts http://bit.ly/mBt9Om
- Learn more abt the #ERA history & #ERA2015 http://bit.ly/lZrosw
UPDATE (provided on 7/1/11): ERA ratification bills were introduced in the Senate (S.J.Res. 21), by lead sponsor Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and in the House of Representatives (H.J. Res. 69) by lead sponsor Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) on June 22, 2011.
FYI – You can also make a financial contribution to United 4 Equality by clicking here (see PayPal button on the front page of web site). Thank you in advance for your generosity!
