In the United States, women do not have protections nor an explicit guarantee of equality on the basis of sex or gender within the US Constitution. This has profound implications for the social and economic security of women and girls and is compounded by racial discrimination and other factors. Women in the US are more likely to live in poverty than men and to be concentrated in low-wage jobs.
The United States continues to lag behind 85% of UN Member States that have constitutions that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex and/or gender. Without this explicit protection, the US remains in violation of international human rights law and continues to reinforce hindrances to women’s full economic potential.
As part of our, I Need the ERA Because… campaign, we take a closer look at how the ERA would help move the needle on crucial issues of economic rights and well-being facing everyone in the United States today.
For 100 years, generations of feminists have been working toward equal protection within the United States Constitution. Download this factsheet to learn more about how the ERA could protect economic rights for everyone in the US.
I need the ERA because…a girl is not a wife – Child marriage
It is estimated by Unchained at Last that about 300,000 children were married in the United States between 2000 and 2018, the…
I need the ERA because…reproductive rights are human rights – Abortion
By rightfully framing access to reproductive healthcare, including access to legal abortion, as fundamental to ensuring gende…
I need the ERA because… I have the right to bodily integrity – FGM
Despite the prevalence of the practice in the USA and the persisting risk to many women and girls, 20% of American states do …
I need the ERA because… one in three women experience violence in her lifetime – Gender Based Violence
Data shows that marginalized communities, such as indigenous women, Black women, and young women will be disproportionately a…
I need the ERA because…LGBTQ+ rights are human rights
Because discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation is sex discrimination, the ERA will make it much…
I need the ERA because…without the ERA, the US violates international law
In October 2023, the United States was reviewed by the United Nations Human Rights Committee, and for the first time, a UN tr…
I need the ERA because…paid care is a right – gender equality and the care economy
For more than a century, feminists have realized that omitting sex discrimination from the Constitution presents a major barr…
I need the ERA because…the voice of the US legal profession endorses it!
In August 2024, The American Bar Association, the largest national volunteer association of lawyers in the world, adopted&nbs…