If the Equal Rights Amendment had been ratified

¶ … Equal Rights Amendment and its what its impact and chances for ratification might be if brought before the legislators today. The author argues that many political changes have taken place and the ERA might not be as well received, however, it would still be needed.

THE SAME NEEDS FOR DIFFERENT REASONS

The Equal Rights Amendment assures that everyone will be treated fairly and equally. This was a needed amendment at the time of its inception for several reasons. At the time, there was gender discrimination in the workforce as well as other types of discrimination. Employers routinely refused to hire women or minorities. If they did, they paid them a lower wage than they paid to the white male employees. For many years this was an accepted practice and the ERA Before the ERA was put into affect people were at the mercy of the will of authority in work situations. This included being passed over for an interview based on skin color or gender. In addition it meant that one could be passed over for promotions and transfers. Since the ERA was adopted we have seen many changes in the way business is conducted when it comes to the treatment of all people. Today there are laws in place to protect genders, religious views and races from being discriminated against in the area of employment. Because of the changes that have taken place both politically and in society some wonder if the ERA would be ratified if it were to make its first appearance today. While it may not make it, because of the way we now conduct ourselves, it would not be long before we brought it back and it did pass.

One of the reasons the ERA may not pass today is that we have made the changes the ERA demanded we make. So much has happened politically and socially because of the strong arm of the ERA, that we now see the benefit of diversity and equality. Without the ERA ever being implemented, we would not be in the same place as we currently are. In addition, if we were by some avenue to reach this point and the ERA was introduced, we would ratify it because there are still areas that need the foundational support and protection. While we are basically a society that does not discriminate, there are still some who will if given the opportunity. We see news shows weekly about someone who has been discriminated against due to their skin color or gender. Lawsuits ensue and eventually the injured party prevails. However, if we did not ratify the ERA today, we would be sending a message to the world that discrimination was acceptable to us and it would most likely grow in its existence.