The Equal Rights Amendment has ongoing and urgent political and cultural relevance in the US and around the world. As a journalist, your words have the ability to inform the masses about injustices and triumphs, which is why we’re providing a breakdown of one of the simplest yet most misrepresented amendments in US history – the ERA.
The ERA is not just a women’s issue
The ERA is a very simple amendment putting protection for women and other marginalized genders directly into the United States Constitution, so simple that over 80 percent of the US population believes it already exists.
The lack of constitutional equality affects people of all demographics at every level of society and intersects with some of today’s most pressing issues, including abortion, economic rights, and LGBTQ+ rights.
This toolkit was designed to:
– Provide further detail about the significance of the ERA in the United States, past and present
– Inspire new angles to help media and communications professionals reach and engage audiences
– Source engaging, accessible quotes from leaders and campaigners on the ERA
Your words can shape equality
Thank you to all of those who have accurately written, reported, tweeted, and otherwise communicated about the Equal Rights Amendment. Your words have helped more people – elected officials and everyday supporters of gender equality alike – to understand the vital role constitutional equality plays in the lasting protection of human rights.
If you have already reported on the Equal Rights Amendment, or if you want to write about its intersections, but are not confident about why it matters or its legal history, please explore Reporting on the ERA: A Toolkit for Journalists.
We hope this toolkit will be explored, adopted, and shared widely by all those interested in achieving global gender justice. Together, we can pledge and uphold a shared commitment to informed and conscientious reporting on constitutional equality in the US and beyond.