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

See Examples For:

Equal Rights Amendment

Meanwhile, she was crisscrossing the country, campaigning for liberal Democratic candidates, fighting laws restricting abortion, and urging legislators to adopt the Equal Rights Amendment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

She spent several years lobbying to push an Equal Rights Amendment through Congress, and then—unsuccessfully—to have it ratified by the states.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

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 ● Jan. 17, 2025

In Nevada, voters ratified the Equal Rights Amendment for the state constitution, which already protected abortion access and now does so under the state’s commitment to gender equality.

From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2024

She supported the Equal Rights Amendment, proposed in 1923; Congress passed the bill in 1912, but it was never ratified by three-fourths of the states.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling