 Civil RightsCivil Rights Background | Legislation | Updates | Talking Points | Resources | Action Despite significant advances for women in the US and around the world, sex discrimination is not a thing of the past and progress is not irreversible. Laws to prevent sex discrimination are not enough, because they contain loopholes, are inconsistently interpreted, and may be weakened by amendment or repeal. International conventions and constitutional amendments provide a guarantee of equality that shifts the burden away from those fighting discrimination and places it where it belongs, on those who would discriminate. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), first proposed in 1923, is still not part of the U.S. Constitution. The ERA reads, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” In 1972, Congress passed the ERA and the amendment was sent to the states for ratification. Over the course of 10 years, the ERA was ratified by 35 of the 38 states required to ratify the law and make it a permanent part of the US Constitution. The 15 states that have not ratified the ERA are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia. To attain progress in equality for women on an international level, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW/ Women's Treaty) was created to establish international standards regarding discrimination on the basis of sex and to establish rights for women. CEDAW was decades in the making. The United Nations' adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 focused public attention on the international human rights agenda. However, 50 years later, the majority of the world's women and girls remained excluded from the prevailing vision of human rights and continued to lack basic legal rights in countries around the world. At the First World Conference on Women in Mexico City in 1975, a call was made to develop a Women's Convention to comprehensively address women's rights within political, cultural, economic, social and family life and CEDAW was created, In 1979, the United Nations General Assembly officially adopted the Women's Treaty. The Treaty calls for women around the world to have: From the time the UN approved the treaty, supporters of women's rights called on the U.S. Senate to ratify the treaty barring abuses against women. The U.S. stands out as the only industrialized nation that has failed to ratify CEDAW. Although President Carter signed the agreement in 1980, the United States did not sign the treaty until September 2000. Currently, 166 countries have consented to be bound by the provisions of CEDAW. The treaty cannot go into effect, however, until 20 countries have ratified it. The United States must ratify the treaty in accordance with the procedures outlined by the United States Constitution. According to Article II, Section 2, the President is empowered to make treaties by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. BPW/USA believes the ratification of the ERA and passage of CEDAW are vital to ending sex discrimination and women’s inequality.
Would a Female Supreme Court Justice Make a Difference? ERA Ratification in the States
Resources Equal Rights Amendment Resource Center Sample ERA State Bills US Department of Justice-Civil Rights Division Leadership Conference on Civil Rights State-based ERA organizations
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