Institute, center co-host event for Equal Rights Amendment
The Institute for Women's Leadership and the McCarthy Center held an event advocating for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Students were encouraged to sign a petition and write call-to-action letters.
Students gathered to sign a petition on Wednesday, Feb. 23, to demand that the Minnesota Constitution add an Equal Rights Amendment.
The Institute for Women’s Leadership (IWL) and the McCarthy Center hosted the event to promote the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The event included time for students to learn more about the ERA, sign the petition and write letters or emails to their state’s legislators. Along with educating students on the details of the ERA, students were given templates to email and send letters to state legislators.
The ERA is a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution designed to guarantee U.S. citizens equal protection under the law regardless of sex. After it was initially passed by the U.S. Senate on March 22, 1972, the amendment failed to receive the necessary ratification by 38, or three-fourths, states within the seven-year requirement.
“The IWL’s main goal is to educate and advocate. My personal goal was to educate and advocate on the necessity of women’s rights in the legal realm. We do a lot of diverse work all centered around women and marginalized genders,” the IWL’s social justice coordinator Alexie Horner said. “For this event, we were aiming for the educational and advocacy aspect.”
According to the survey created, 94% of Americans believe that gender equality should be included in the Constitution, while 75% falsely believe that it’s already protected.
“Learning those stats and realizing that technically there is no requirement for women to be paid the same amount or in a divorce trial…to be treated the same [really] irked me,” IWL community program coordinator Mari Hermerding said. “I really wanted to do something about it, and this is a way to personally get involved.”
According to Horner, current legislators have been making new strides for the seven-year deadline to be removed, since they now have all of the necessary state signatures to ratify the amendment in the constitution.
The petition advocates for two proposed amendments: “Equality under the law shall not be abridged or denied on account of gender” and “Equality under the law shall not be abridged or denied on account of sex.”
For those who didn’t attend the event, Horner has suggestions for other ways to become informed about the ERA and other policies.
“Engage yourself in ways that interest you and just be conscious of what you’re consuming. Dig around. If you like watching videos, find a YouTuber that does really good, honest reporting on this type of thing,” Horner said. “Find some reputable source in whatever way you like to take in your media, and go from there.”
March is Women’s History Month, and the IWL will host various events throughout the month.
