PEOPLE: Women’s History Month 2023: 100 years after the Equal Rights Amendment of 1923 women still want civil rights and equal rights
Contributed
March 22, 2023
WASHINGTON (AGN.News) – Women’s History Month 2023 marks 100 years since the Equal Rights Amendment was proposed in 1923. Women across this vast land are still fighting long-fought battles for their right to make their own life choices.
While not all women will agree on what those rights are, one thing most women will agree on is the need for everyone to make up their own mind as to what choices they desire to make in life.
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) of 1923
This is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution. This proposed amendment is designed to guarantee equal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex.
Many people see this proposed amendment as a legal mechanism that would end legal distinctions between men and women in matters relating to divorce, property, employment, and many other matters.
This amendment was introduced in Congress in 1923. It was written by two women, Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman.
Alice Paul and the ERA of 1923
Alice Paul (1885-1977) was a women’s right activist. She played a pivotal role in passing the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which guaranteed women the right to vote. It went into effect on August 18, 1920 and certified on August 26, 1920.
She knew women were voters in the colonies before 1776. By 1807, every state had removed that right in every state’s constitution. Women had been denied every opportunity to vote in every election after 1807.
Paul also knew every female was denied this right while every qualified male were guaranteed the right to vote. The victory for women’s voting rights led to the need to create another amendment, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) of 1923. It would guarantee equal rights for all, women and men.
Crystal Eastman and the ERA of 1923
Crystal Eastman (1881-1928) was an American lawyer, feminist, and journalist. She was a co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
The ACLU is an American non-profit organization founded “to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States”.
As a lawyer, Eastman was well aware of the forces against equal rights for women. Nonetheless, she worked hard to secure more rights for women until her death in 1928. 1n 2000, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York.
Paul and Eastman: Equal Rights For All
These two women and countless others have led the charge for women’s right for the past 100 years and many years before 1923. These battles for women’s equal rights are still being fought today.
Today, it’s about equal opportunities for women. Yes, women have many more rights and opportunities today than at any time in America’s history. However, there are many rights held in limbo.
Women’s History Month 2023 continues to remind us of many missed opportunities and how many doors have opened for women to enter.
However, with over 168 million women in America, there needs to be more doors opening for women. One of the major complaints by women is the across the board gender bias. Many women are saying, in the workplace, women still do not have the same equal opportunities and protections as men.
Women and exclusion in the workplace
Many women have expressed their observation about being excluded rather than being included in the workplace jobs and promotions.
This exclusion becomes more obvious when a person take an up-close view of jobs in finance, science, construction, auto mechanics, home construction, and upper level management.
There are more women in colleges and graduate programs in America than men. When it comes to equal pay for equal work, women are struggling to catch up. For every dollar men make, women make 83 cents even though they may be doing the same job at the same time.
Women see a glass-ceiling that prevents them from upward mobility in the workplace. Many see gender bias as the cause. Many male managers see acquiring a job promotion for women as a good idea, but not now.
Women gaining in the workplace
There is some great news for women in this post-pandemic world. The Center for American Progress (CAP), a public policy research and advocacy organization, reports the still-existing pay gaps and occupational segregation remain in the workplace.
CAP says women-at-work is “essential for economic security, social equality, and a robust and sustainable economy for all”. Today, CAP reports “three-quarters of so-called prime-age women – those 25-54 – hold down a job.”
Additionally, 84 percent of employed, prime-age women work full time, according to CAP. The pandemic took a toll on this group in the workplace. However, women continue to make gains in the field of employment, percentage wise.
Women and progress on equal rights
Women have made and continue to make progress in securing equal rights in many areas. However, its been 100 years since the Equal Rights Amendment was proposed in 1923.
This gives us pause to wonder – how long do women have to wait to see accelerated progress – on women’s equal rights in life and in the workplace.
At the rate we’re going today in America – a recent report revealed – it will take another 130 years before women see the equality Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman fought for in 1923.
Women’s fight for equal rights
The good news is that, like it or not, America will continue to see women fighting for their right to be treated equally in jobs, business, home, and in the workplace.
In these 2020s women are fighting for these rights because they have children and grandchildren that are girls. These women understand the need to fight for rights of these girl’s future.
Those who feel they can prevent women from getting equal rights may want to look back at the many lessons men learned from those who felt they could stop women from voting from 1807-1920.
It took 113 years for women get the right to vote. Mark this date, a little over 100 years from now, all women and men in the United States will see the Equal Rights Amendment proposed in 1923 become law all across this beautiful country by 2123.
We’re optimistic about the future. A future where men in power will come to see the value of women in society. And see the need to advance the civil, equal, and human rights of women without delay so those rights can be celebrated during Women’s History Month every year.
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