Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave the women the right to vote. That centennial could coincide with yet another change to the country’s founding document centered on equality between the sexes: the Equal Rights Amendment.

The proposed amendment would outlaw discrimination on the basis of sex. Women’s rights activists began campaigning for the ERA shortly after women’s suffrage was passed, and the movement came incredibly close to achieving its goal in the 1970s. By 1972, the amendment had been passed in both houses of Congress with strong majorities, meaning it would become law once ratified by 38 states.

Over the course of the following six years, 35 states had approved the ERA, but the momentum was halted amid strong conservative opposition. The amendment sat in legislative limbo for four decades before Nevada unexpectedly ratified it in 2017. Illinois did the same a year later.

When Democrats take control of the Virginia state legislature next month, it looks likely that the amendment will finally be approved by the 38th state. Before the ERA could become law, however, Congress would have to vote to void a deadline placed in the original bill, which expired in 1982.

Why there’s still debate

Proponents of the Equal Rights Amendment say it would strengthen the legal basis for combating a broad swath of inequities in American society, including pay discrepancies, violence against women and parental leave. While many of the reforms desired by campaigners in the 1970s have been accomplished through legislation in the intervening decades, supporters argue that a constitutional amendment carries more weight in the courts and is less vulnerable to repeal as political power changes hands in Washington. Read more

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Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave the women the right to vote. That centennial could coincide with yet another change to the country’s founding document centered on equality between the sexes: the Equal Rights Amendment.