Dear John,

Today, January 17, 2025, President Biden took decisive action on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), affirming that the ERA is part of the United States Constitution and the law of the land. 

This marks a historic milestone for gender equality, bringing justice for all women and girls. By solidifying the ERA, the United States will join the ranks of the 85% of UN member states that have already recognized the importance of guaranteeing constitutional equality, sending a powerful message that the human rights of every person are of equal importance.

What does this mean?

We commend this pivotal achievement, which affirms the country’s commitment to its obligations under international law. This action lays a robust foundation for addressing systemic injustices in the United States, including sexual violence, workplace discrimination, lack of family leave, and barriers to equal representation. Equality Now will continue to work with lawmakers, legal professionals, and advocates to bring the ERA to life and ensure it is a catalyst for meaningful and lasting change.

Our collective determination has been rewarded. 

The ERA was first proposed over 100 years ago in 1923, and women’s rights activists and allies have been campaigning for it ever since. In 2020, Virginia became the 38th and last needed state to ratify it. 

As a proud member of the ERA Coalition, Equality Now has worked tirelessly over the last several years to push for ratification, and then publication in the Constitution, of the ERA. From highlighting the issue in our Words & Deeds reports and briefs, doing a podcast about it, creating a series of I Need the ERA Because fact sheets, getting the UN Human Rights Committee to include it in recommendations to the US, working with the American Bar Association to pass a resolution on it, and holding events at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and other international fora, our commitment to passing the Equal Rights Amendment has been steadfast. 

To each and every one of you who has campaigned for the ERA, our decades of commitment have culminated in this historic, long-awaited moment in which each woman and girl in this country can finally say "I stand equal in the eyes of the Constitution.”

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support of a gender-equal world. Together we can. 

In solidarity,
S. Mona Sinha
Global Executive Director

PS: Share the good news. You can read our full statement on our website, or share it with your networks on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X, or Bluesky.