The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) refers to a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution. It aims to make gender a nondiscriminatory legal factor. It states, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”
More than half of Republicans and Democrats agree that equal political rights for men and women are essential and should be resolved soon. A large majority, including 62% of non-feminist Republicans and even more Democrats, favor adding the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution to secure these rights for women. Recent efforts in Congress, such as the House’s near-unanimous passage of H.J. Res. 17 to extend the ratification deadline indefinitely, revived attention to the ERA, though opposing politicians’ stances caused the measure to stall in the Senate.
The Democratic Stance on the Equal Rights Amendment
The Democratic Party’s political stance on the Equal Rights Amendment is strongly in favor of it being added to the Constitution. For Democrats, the amendment’s equal political rights represent a safeguard for protection ranging from marriage equality and Title IX enforcement to reproductive healthcare access and broader gender equality issues.
This support dates back to 1944, when the ERA was first added to the party’s platform. Today, the party continues to support ratification as the current Democratic Party Platform explicitly endorses the ERA and pledges to fight for its inclusion. The party’s commitment was evident in late 2024 when over 120 House Democrats sent a letter urging President Biden to ratify the ERA. Their urgency stemmed from what they viewed as the incoming Trump administration’s hostility toward reproductive freedom, access to health care, and LGBTQIA+ rights. The Democrats also contend that, regardless of the arbitrary deadline, the amendment has satisfied the constitutional requirements of Article V since Congress approved the amendment in 1972, and the necessary 38 states have ratified the amendment as of 2020.
Moreover, Democratic voters mirror this party stance. Polling by the Pew Research Center shows that nearly nine in ten Democrats support the ERA, with 51% strongly in favor and 37% somewhat in favor. Support is also the same across both men and women, as 88% of men and 87% of women are in favor of the amendment, underscoring that the ERA transcends gender divides within the party.
The Republican Stance on the Equal Rights Amendment
The Republican policy stance on the Equal Rights Amendment has changed significantly over the past century. Initially, the party played a key role in advancing the amendment. In 1940, Republicans became the first party to include ERA support in their platform. It was two Republican Congressmen, Senator Charles Curity and Representative Daniel Anthony Jr., who introduced the amendment to Congress. There was strong bipartisan support in 1972 when the ERA was passed in Congress.
However, by the late 1970s, the Republican stance on equal rights started to shift. The party’s ideological shift to the right caused the party to endorse more conservative policies. This change was evident in 1978 when Congress voted to extend the ratification deadline. Over 50% of Republican Senators and 70% of House Republicans voted against the extension, though the extension still passed. By the election of 1980, the GOP platform dropped explicit support of the ERA. That same year, Republican candidate Ronald Reagan became the first U.S. President to actively oppose the ERA being added to the Constitution.
Most recently, in April of 2023, Senate Republicans blocked a resolution that would remove the ratification deadline, which prevented the ERA from moving forward.
Yet, polling suggests Republican voters themselves are more supportive than their party’s leadership. Pew Research Center data shows that two-thirds (66%) of Republican voters support adding the ERA to the Constitution. Support is especially strong among Republican women, as 75% of them support the ERA, compared to 58% of Republican men.
Public Opinion on the Equal Rights Amendment
There is an overwhelming majority of Americans who support the addition of the Equal Rights Amendment, about eight-in-ten U.S. adults (78%). Still, opinions differ on whether it would make a practical difference. Nearly half of Americans (49%) don’t believe that the ERA will affect women’s rights, while 44% do believe it would advance women’s rights. A small minority of 5% believe that the ERA will set back women’s rights.
Partisan differences are also sharp. 63% of Democrats say the ERA would advance women’s rights in the country, compared to only 38% of Republicans. Gender and age also influence perspective. About half (54% & 53%) of women and men believe the ERA will help advance rights. Furthermore, 63% of women who are younger than 30 believe that it will advance women’s rights compared to about 50% of women older than 30.
Opposition to the ERA often stems from broader ideological debates. An AP News poll found that many conservatives fear the ERA could be used to challenge restrictions on abortion or expand transgender rights, framing it as a legal weapon for progressive social change rather than a gender equality measure.
A Brief History of the Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was first introduced to Congress in 1923 by Republican Senator Curtis and Republican Representative Anthony, and it was written by Alice Paul, a leader of the women’s suffrage movement. For decades, the amendment remained stalled in Congress, but in 1972, the amendment was passed in the House and Senate with bipartisan support.
At the time, Congress had set a seven-year deadline for the states to ratify the amendment. The amendment gained momentum quickly as 22 states ratified it in the first year and eight more in 1973. However, anti-ERA campaigns, led by activists such as Phyllis Schlafly, slowed progress. In 1974, three states ratified the ERA, and then only two more states ratified the amendment by 1977. Needing three more states to ratify the amendment, women’s rights coalitions started lobbying for the deadline to be removed or extended, and in 1978, Congress approved a deadline extension to 1982. Yet, conservative opposition had grown strong, and no additional states ratified the ERA by 1982. During that time, five states even tried to withdraw their ratification.
Congress reintroduced the ERA in every session after 1982 as an effort to get the ERA ratified, but the amendment was completely stalled until the late 2010s. In March 2017, Nevada became the first state since 1977 to ratify the ERA. Illinois followed in 2018, and Virginia in 2020. Virginia was the 38th state to ratify, which was the required number for ratification. Supporters argued this fulfilled the Constitution’s requirements, but opponents of the Equal Rights Amendment maintained that the deadline had already expired, making the ratification uncertain.
In 2023, the Senate blocked a resolution that would have removed the ratification deadline, which has left the Equal Rights Amendment still not passed.
What the Future Holds
The future of the Equal Rights Amendment movement is uncertain. While public support is strong and bipartisan at the voter level, partisan divides in Congress continue to block its progress. Democrats continue to push for ratification while Republican lawmakers frame the ERA as a vehicle for liberal policies rather than a guarantee of gender equality.
As of right now, the ERA will not be added to the Constitution unless Congress can agree to remove the ratification deadline.
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