On 25 March 2025, Equal Pay Day, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), along with Congresswomen Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA), and Jennifer McClellan (D-VA), and Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), reintroduced their bicameral resolution to overcome a significant obstacle to the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in both the Senate and House of Representatives (S.J. Res 38 and H.J.Res.80). The resolution would remove an arbitrary deadline set by Congress in 1972.
The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees people of all genders equal treatment and due process under the law. However, women are not mentioned anywhere in the U.S. Constitution. Even though the Fourteenth Amendment recognizes equality for all United States citizens, gender discrimination is not subjected to strict scrutiny, making it easier for governmental bodies to discriminate on the basis of gender.
On March 22, 1972, Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment with more than the two thirds required. In 2020, Virginia became the 38th and last state necessary to ratify it. After the required three-quarters of states had ratified the amendment, Congress then decided to include a time limit for ratification in the joint resolution from 1972, which prevented the ERA from becoming the 28th Amendment.
“For centuries, women – particularly women of color and LGBTQ+ folks – have been treated as less than – less deserving of pay, less protected by law, less free to show up as our authentic selves in a world that constantly pushes us down,” said Rep. Pressley. “By enshrining the ERA into law, we are taking the necessary step to center our most vulnerable and marginalized communities, close the gender wage gap, combat sex discrimination, reduce gender-based violence, ensure freedom over our bodies, and more. The time is now to affirm gender equality once and for all.”
“The state of Alaska ratified the ERA and amended the State Constitution in 1972, and that is a legacy I am proud to continue advocating for at the federal level,” said Senator Murkowski. “It is past time for the equal rights of women to be guaranteed in the United States Constitution, and I will continue to advocate for the passage of this resolution until that is achieved.”
Please use our pre-drafted letters to urge your representative to co-sponsor and support the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (H.J.Res.80 and S.J. Res 38). If they have already sponsored or co-sponsored the bill, you can send a message of thanks.