Equal Rights Amendment

American  

noun

1. ERA.

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Equal Rights Amendment Cultural  

1. A twice-proposed but never ratified amendment to the Constitution that would prohibit denial or abridgement of rights on the basis of sex. First proposed in 1923, the amendment was passed by Congress in 1972 but failed ratification by the requisite number of states. It was a major rallying point of the women's movement.

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Example Sentences

The author reprises a star character from “These Truths,” the charismatic anti-feminist Phyllis Schlafly, who led the charge against the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and ’80s: “On television, she was unbeatable. She was smart and relentlessly strategic. In her newsletter, and to conservative audiences, she denounced her opponents with precision and delight. To television audiences, she sold happiness and contentment like so much laundry detergent.”

From Los Angeles Times

In an anecdote that feels especially meaningful given the current tensions over editorials, Gloria Steinem remembers being asked to address an editorial board meeting because Graham wanted them “to support the Equal Rights Amendment editorially and they were not doing so. She felt she couldn’t order them to, so she asked me to come …”

From Los Angeles Times

Congress overwhelmingly passed the Equal Rights Amendment, which would enshrine gender equality into the Constitution, way back in 1972.

From Slate

President Joe Biden stated Friday that he believes the Equal Rights Amendment, which guarantees equal rights for women, to be "the law of the land."

From Salon

He supported women’s equality, including the proposed Equal Rights Amendment.

From Los Angeles Times