Passed as a constitutional amendment by the U.S. Congress in 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was designed to ban discrimination on account of sex. The ERA failed, by just three states, to get the necessary 38 votes for ratification. Originally finding easy support, the amendment faced increasingly organized conservative opposition until its demise in 1982. Nonetheless, equal rights for women have been recognized by the courts under the 14th Amendment, but without the heightened scrutiny given to racial and ethnic minorities. |
Janet Z. Giele is a Professor of Sociology in the Heller School for Social Welfare at Brandeis University. She focused on the field of women's movements in the 1900's. This Top 10 list celebrates a century of achievement for women and credits the contributions of a number of outstanding women, including Margaret Sanger, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Betty Friedan, and Naomi Wolf. Susan Schantz, a Graduate Research Assistant in the Heller School for Social Welfare at Brandeis University, assisted Professor Giele in developing the list. |