Equality Must Be Explicit and Durable

The Equal Rights Amendment is a century-long effort to place equality of rights regardless of sex explicitly in the United States Constitution. SBWPC supports the ERA as part of its adopted feminist public-policy framework.

38 states

Current Status

Thirty-eight states have voted to ratify the ERA

Where the ERA Stands SBWPC ERA Position Take Action

Santa Barbara Women's Political Committee ERA Equal Rights Amendment badge: Equality, Justice, Opportunity

The numerical threshold has been reached but certification remains disputed

Thirty-eight states. Virginia’s 2020 action brought the number of states that voted to ratify the ERA to thirty-eight.

National Archives position. NARA states that the ERA cannot currently be certified as part of the Constitution because of the ratification deadline and established legal, judicial and procedural decisions.

Current congressional pathway. H.J. Res. 80 and S.J. Res. 38 in the 119th Congress seek to establish the ERA as valid notwithstanding the original time limit.

The ERA’s legal status remains contested. This page distinguishes the thirty-eight-state ratification count from the separate question of certification and publication as part of the Constitution.

National Archives Statement H.J. Res. 80 S.J. Res. 38

Constitutional equality remains unfinished

SBWPC supports ratification of the ERA and CEDAW. The organization’s adopted position papers explicitly call for constitutional equality and ratification of both the Equal Rights Amendment and CEDAW.

Equal Rights (ERA & CEDAW)

Women are not explicitly accorded equal rights and protections in the United States Constitution. The United States is the only developed nation that has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979.

We demand the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and of CEDAW by the United States.

Read Full Position SBWPC Letters & Statements

A century of constitutional advocacy

First Introduced
1923
The Equal Rights Amendment is first introduced in Congress.
Congressional Passage
1972
Congress approves the ERA and sends it to the states with an initial seven-year ratification deadline.
1978
Congress extends the ratification deadline to June 30, 1982.
1982
The extended deadline passes with thirty-five states having ratified by that date.
2017
Nevada votes to ratify the ERA.
2018
Illinois votes to ratify the ERA.
Thirty-Eighth State
2020
Virginia votes to ratify, bringing the total number of state ratification actions to thirty-eight.
2024
The National Archives states that it cannot certify and publish the ERA under existing legal and procedural decisions.
2025
H.J. Res. 80 and S.J. Res. 38 are introduced in the 119th Congress to establish ratification notwithstanding the time limit.
Current Debate
Today
The legal effect of the deadline, certification and congressional action remains the central dispute.

National Archives ERA History Ratification Records

Explicit constitutional equality has broad implications

Supporters of the ERA argue that an explicit constitutional guarantee would strengthen the legal foundation for addressing sex-based discrimination across public life. These are the six areas of public life in which ERA supporters argue an explicit constitutional equality guarantee could strengthen the legal framework against sex-based discrimination.

Pay & Employment

Equal treatment in pay, employment opportunity and workplace protections.

Education

Equal access, opportunity and treatment in educational institutions and programs.

Gender-Based Violence

A constitutional equality lens for laws and government responses involving sex-based violence and discrimination.

Bodily Autonomy

Constitutional arguments concerning sex equality, bodily autonomy and government treatment.

Public Institutions

Equal treatment in government programs, public systems and civic participation.

Equal Protection

An explicit textual guarantee that equality of rights may not be denied or abridged on account of sex.

How the ERA Protects Women

Infographic: The legal gap between sex and race discrimination in U.S. law, comparing constitutional basis, level of court review and how easily Congress can weaken protections

Infographic: Why women need the ERA, showing that current law can be repealed by simple majority and what the ERA would lock into the Constitution

Infographic: What the Constitution protects (race, religion, national origin, but not sex) and what the ERA fixes

Infographic: How the ERA protects women, five pillars: pay and workplace rights, healthcare access, military service, domestic and gender violence, education

Infographic: How passing the ERA will protect women, comparing life without and with the ERA across equal pay, workplace discrimination, reproductive rights, gender-based violence and healthcare access

Choose a clear next step

Connect education with public participation.

Contact elected officials

Find the federal officials who represent you and make your position on constitutional equality known.

Find Elected Officials

Read ERA advocacy letters

Review SBWPC’s public ERA advocacy, including support for congressional action and its 2025 letter to Representative Salud Carbajal.

Open ERA Archive

Join sustained local advocacy

Connect with SBWPC’s committee work on constitutional equality, education and ERA advocacy. Meeting schedules and leadership information may change, so confirm the next meeting before attending.

Email SBWPC View Committee Directory

SBWPC ERA Writing and Advocacy

Read, learn and trace SBWPC’s ERA work: current ERA writing, historic advocacy letters and the organization’s broader feminist publication archive.

The work of a century continues

Take ERA Action