Vote Equality!
The Equal Rights Amendment IS our 28th Amendment!
“Is the 28th Amendment (Equal Rights) for all of us?”
- Absolutely. Gender discrimination negatively impacts all Americans.
- Women of color in particular experience the oppression women in America face in conjunction with racial inequalities. Because of this, gender discrimination against women of color is more profound. For example:
- In a recent study of minority women practicing law only 2% of equity partners were women of color, the same percentage as 20 years prior (source, ABA Journal)
- As compared to White women, women of color experience far greater rates of maternal mortality (source, Centers for Disease Control)
- Black women – 3 times more likely to die
- America Indian or Alaskan Native women – 2.5 times more likely to die
- In comparison to the average pay of White men, Latina and Black women’s median weekly pay for fulltime work is substantially less. (source, Institute for Women’s Policy Research):
- Black women – 67.4%
- Latina women – 61%
- Women of color experience implicit bias during healthcare provider visits (video, Now This News and CNN).
- Rates of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) are higher among women of color than they are for White women (source, Kaiser Family Foundation)
- Our society’s historical narratives systematically omit women, especially women of color. Less than 3% of the words in history textbooks are specifically about women and only 5% of all images of historic figures are women of color (source, “Truth Be Told” digital exhibit at evoke.org).
- Increasing the number of women of color in positions of power is the best way to reduce the twin evils of systemic racism and gender discrimination. Women of color make up only 11 percent of the 118th Congress (source, Pew Research and UN Women).
- In its 6-3 ruling in Bostock v Clayton County (2015) the Supreme Court clarified the legal meaning of the term “sex discrimination.” In the majority opinion Justice Neil Gorsuch defined sex discrimination as including both gender identity discrimination and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (source, Advocate). Although this opinion referred to a federal law, it is widely assumed this interpretation will apply to the 28th Amendment.
- Women in less economically valued jobs show some of the largest health harms from gender discrimination (source, The Conversation).
- 0f 29 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, the US ranks at number 22 which is below the OECD average. The reason for the low ranking is due to the fact that the US does not offer any paid maternity or paternity leave, which every year drags them down. (source, The Economist)
- The VoteEqualityUS campaign is inclusive. With a wide variety of groups focused on our shared goal of gender equality, we will make progress together.
ADDITIONAL FAQs
What Changes
“What will the 28th Amendment (Equal Rights) really do?”
About Us
“Who is VoteEqualityUS and what’s your plan?”
Abortion
“Doesn’t this open the door for abortion rights?”
Bathrooms
“Will we all have to use the same bathrooms?”
Bipartisan
“Do most Americans support Equal Rights in our Constitution?”
Black Lives Matter
“What’s your position on Black Lives Matter?”
Business Case
“How does gender equality impact businesses?”
Contracts
“Won’t women contractors lose enhanced status for contract bids?”
Convention
“Can’t we just do this during the constitutional convention?”
Deadline
“Didn't the ratification deadline already pass?”
Discrimination
“What government gender discrimination is happening now?”
Draft
“Does constitutional equality mean women will be drafted?”
Equal Pay
“Will this help women get paid more equally?”
Family Law
“How will the Equal Rights Amendment impact family law?”
Fear of Unknown
“How can we do this when we don't know what will happen?”
Gender Violence
“How can constitutional gender equality help with gender violence?”
Ginsburg
“Didn’t RBG say something about starting over?”
History
“What is the history of the 28th Amendment (Equal Rights)?”
Illinois v Ferriero
“Isn’t there a court case about the 28th Amendment (Equal Rights)?”
Insurance
“What about insurance? Someone said my rates will go up.”
International
“How do we compare to other countries?”
Intersectionality
“Is the 28th Amendment (Equal Rights) for all of us?”
Military
“How will the Equal Rights Amendment impact our military?”
Pregnancy
“Will this help with pregnancy discrimination?”
Rescissions
“Didn’t a few states rescind their ratifications?”
Social Security
“Will my widow lose her social security benefits when I die?”
Sports
“Will my daughter lose her girls only soccer team?”
Tax Exempt Status
“Will my church lose its tax exempt status?”
Title VII and Title IX
“How is this different from Title VII and Title IX?”
Topless
“Will women now be walking around topless?”
Transgender
“Will this provide protections for transgender individuals?”
