--- title: Women's Equality Day: Equal Rights Still Not Protected in Constitution description: Whatever happened to the Equal Rights Amendment? canonical: https://time.com/4010569/womens-equality-day-equal-rights/ author: Arpita Aneja article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-25T22:50:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:31:46.537Z og:title: Why Women's Equality Isn't Protected by the Constitution og:description: What ever happened to the Equal Rights Amendment? og:url: https://time.com/4010569/womens-equality-day-equal-rights/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f54dd3a6f50e196/698860d7cd1bba1a786fce2e/gettyimages-161990208.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3090 og:image:height: 1738 og:image:alt: APR 25 1981, APR 27 1981; Picketes Supported Equal Rights Amendment Protested Views being discussed og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Women's Equality Isn't Protected by the Constitution twitter:description: What ever happened to the Equal Rights Amendment? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1f54dd3a6f50e196/698860d7cd1bba1a786fce2e/gettyimages-161990208.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Women's Equality Still Isn't Protected by the Constitution > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture recommendation newsletter, edited by culture editor Eliza Berman. Each week it surfaces the books, shows, films and ideas TIME's editors think are worth your attention, and explains why. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Does TIME have a culture newsletter? Yes. Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published weekly. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=215b7969-61dc-4449-936d-ba8b9e34d10d&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) ## Video: What Ever Happened to the Equal Rights Amendment? [Watch (HLS stream): What Ever Happened to the Equal Rights Amendment?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Wp2zFoLt.m3u8) (2:10)  _Published 2015-08-25. There is still no constitutional guarantee for equal rights for women._  by [Arpita Aneja](https://time.com/author/arpita-aneja/)  ## Arpita Aneja Aug 25, 2015 10:50 PM UTC  by [Arpita Aneja](https://time.com/author/arpita-aneja/)  ## Arpita Aneja Aug 25, 2015 10:50 PM UTC Wednesday is Women’s Equality Day, but the Constitution still does not have an amendment that explicitly guarantees women equal rights. Whatever happened to the Equal Rights Amendment that Congress passed in 1972? Watch the video above to learn how the Amendment came to be—and ultimately failed. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] It's been 95 years since women in the US gained the right to vote. And since then, the fight for women's rights has come a long way. In the 70s, Title IX outlawed discrimination [ MUSIC ] A combination based on sex and public schools and government programs. And yet, there's actually no general Constitutional guarantee of equal rights for women. In 1972, Congress passed the equal rights Rights Amendment, or ERA, which simply states equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any state, on account of sex. But in the end, that amendment never became part of the constitution. The amendment was introduced by women's' rights activist Alice Paul in 1923. She argued that the then recent passage of the nineteenth amendment, which gave women the right to vote, would not protect women against discrimination in other areas of life. Between 1923 and 1972, the amendment was introduced in every Congressional session. Many famous feminists like Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem staunchly supported the idea. Even First Lady Betty Ford voiced her support. It will help knock down those restrictions that have locked women in. But the Amendment was not without its opponents. And surprisingly the head of the stop ERA campaign was not a man. [ MUSIC ] But a woman leading the charge against the ERA was conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly. She argued that it would actually hurt women by forcing them to be part of the military draft and ending certain protections such as alimony after divorce. When the ERA made it out of Congress and was sent to each state to be ratified, Schlafly led a campaign to stop its momentum. Whether by her intervention or not, the amendment was only ratified by 35 of the 38 states needed to amend the Constitution. But despite the fact that it still hasn't been ratified, the Equal Rights Amendment has not been completely forgotten. The amendment has been introduced all over again in every Congress since then. 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