Equal Means Equal : The Case for Recognizing the ERA as the 28th Amendment

When the Equal Rights Amendment passed Congress in 1972, Richard Nixon was president, and All in the Family’s Archie Bunker was telling his wife Edith to “stifle it.” Over the next decade, a groundswell of support led to ratification by thirty-five states—just three short of the thirty-eight needed. With the original publication of Equal Means Equal ten years ago, a new ERA Coalition emerged, uniting the wisdom of veteran activists with the digital savvy and momentum of a new generation.

Now, thirty-eight states have ratified the ERA, it has met all the constitutional requirements for an amendment, and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and Senator Lisa Murkowski have introduced a bipartisan, bicameral resolution; yet, due to a disputed deadline for ratification, it still has not been formally recognized. In this fully revised and updated tenth-anniversary edition, Jessica Neuwirth—founder and former president of the ERA Coalition—explains the current state of the Amendment and lays out the ever greater need for the Amendment through powerful contemporary legal cases and real-world examples. From pay inequity and pregnancy discrimination to violence against women, Neuwirth demonstrates how the lack of constitutional gender equality continues to harm women in the post-Roe era.

In this “vital primer” (Kansas City Star), endorsed by Jimmy Carter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, along with many others, Jessica Neuwirth makes the case “that ratification is the right thing to do” (Kirkus Reviews).