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4 4 DOCOMENTAESOME. ED 210 372 UD 021 863 TITLE Th4 54ual4Rights Amendment: Guaranteeing Equa°1 Rights for Wompn Under t 'he Constitution. ClearigTjhouse PublicaonP ' ;INSTITUTION Commission on Civil Rights, Washington, D.C.. *- PUB DATE Jun 81 NOTE 32p.; Not available in papei copy due tc reproduction ,quality of original document. EDRS PRICE MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS- . DESCRIPTORS , *Civil Rights Legislation: *Constitutional_ Law; Equal Educatioh; Equal Opportunities (Jobs); *Equal Protection: Federal State Relationship; Females; *Laws; *Sex fairness IDENTIFIERS *Equal Rights Amendment ,ABSTRACT This repOrt examines the effects that the ratification of thy Equal Rights Amendment will have on laws concerning women. Tfie amendment's impacts on divorced, married, and emtioTed women, on women in the military and in school, and on women 'dependent on pensions, insurance, and social securiy/ete all analyzed. A discussion of the 'Constitutional rhmificaticns of the Amerdment on the Stakes and"courts is also included. (APM) 1 .4 I. a *******i*****i****************************************************** .4 * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are they best that can be made "lc * . from'the original decument. e * 6 1 *******************************************f**************************0 7, 4 k The Equal .Rights Amendment: r4 r/ .G usranteeirig Equal Rights for yVonlyen Uncle! The Constitution LLI United States, Commission on Civil Rights Clearinghouse Puttation 68 June 1981 A X I ti "" p 4 O U.S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER IERICI /Thisdocument has been reproduced as received from the person or orgerozahon ongtnahng a Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quaint Points of Anew or opinions stated as this docu 'bent do not r.tec4tsarity represent official NIE position or policy For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, 1.7.8, Oovemm °Mee, Washington, D.C. 20402 2 a I, Acknowledgments 1 , P a f , ",.. The ,members of the Commission, following their work on this' report, both as individuals and at meetings of the Commission, desire to acknowledge their indebtedness to the following persons for their work on the report: Carol A. Bonosaro, Assistant Staff Director for Congressional and Public Affairs, for v providing overall ciftection; Phyllis Nichamoff Segal, legal director of the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund and adjunct assistant professor at New York University Lay/ Schell: and, members of theTund, for providing us with the draft report that has been the basis for our discussions; Office of GeneralCounsel for Making recommendations relative to thelegal aspects of the report, and an editorial policy, board, consisting of senior staff of the Commission, for making helpful recommendations relative to substantive information in the report. .4 C L ., ... I 4., t , 3( A Contents Introduction 1 , 1. How Will,Ratification of the Equal Rights AmehdmenAffectb.Litws Concerning Women? ,vta 5 Women WhojAre Employed in the Paid Labor Force b_ Women Who Are Married i 1 9 Women Facing Disruption of Their Families by Divorce fl2 14 Women Dependent on Pensibns, Insurance, and Social Security Jr'. 0 Femiles in the Nation's Schools 17 Women in the Military 19 lzr 2. How Will States Be Affected by Ratification of the Equal Righ4 Amendnient? 22 3. How Will Cdurts Re Affected by Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment? 24 4. Summary an&Conclusions t 27 " tr A 4 Introduction 4,4 1. ,The United Stares Commission on Civil Rights attainn;ent of full, equal rigs for women and first endorsed the proposed Federal Equal Rights menrequiresratification theproposed amendment. The need for RA is at least as Amendment in 1973,2 soon after it was adopted by great today as it was when Congress prdposed the United States Congress and reported to the the amendment to the Statein 1972. Measured individual States for ratification.2 The language of ' by any standard, gender Ines have not been (*le Equal Rights Amendment3 expresses the basic erased, and the history of unequal treatment of pnnciple that government at all levels should treat me and women has not been adequately women and men as,kindividuals having equal rights redsed under existing lawn Moreover, as a under law and provN.tfor the implementation of resin of experiences under State constitutional amendments virtually identical V the proposed this principle: Federal mendment, it is even cArer now than itwas in 972 that the ERA is the. appropriate Sec.1. Equality of rights under thedlaw shall remedialction td address this inequality and not be denied or abridged by the United States' assure women and Env] equal justice before the or by any Stateon account of sex. law.' Sec.2. The Congress shall have the power td In the 2 years since the Statement was issued, the enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provi- Commission has viewed with increasing concern the sions of this article. gap between reality and myth concerning the mean- ing of the Equal Rights Amendment. The Cominis- Sec.3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification. sion believes that this gap has significantlykinterfered with efforts to add ,the amendment to our Federal The Commission reaffirmed its support for the Constitution. The gap isillustrated by a recent Equal Rights Amendment in 1978 when Chairman independent statewide poll sponsored by the Salt Arthur Flemming and Commissioner Frankie Free- Lake Tribune, ! asking pah voters whether they man testified in support of extending the penod of approved of the followft language. "Equality of time in which ratification could be accomplished.' In -rigilisi under the law shall not be abridged by the December 1978 the Commission published its State- United States or by any state on account of sex " ment on the Equal RightsAmendmotet.6 In that The language was favored by near a two-to-one margin. Yet when -asked whether they favor or staterrient, the Commission documented the continu- . ing need for the Equal Rights Amendment and the oppose Utdi's passing the "Equal Rights Amend- frepenent.e of the 16 States that already have added ment," many of the same voters who favored the equal rights provisions to their Stateconstitutions.' equal rights language stated their opposition ' to On the basis of its study, the Commission concluded ratifying the ERA.9 Since the language quoted that 11111 aboveis drawn directly 'Korn the. text of the The full text of this endorsement is reproduced as Appendix A (1974y,,Hawan, Hawaii Const An 1, §21 (1974, Mots, ill Coast Art 1. ' The ERA was approved by Congress and sent to the Suites for or (197i) Maryland, Md. Const. An. 46 (1972); Massachusetts, Mass ratification on Mar. /2. 1972. 49 years after it, veto first introduced This Const. Pan I, A. 1 (1976); Montana. Mont. Const An 2, §411973) Nevi-- legistattve history is reviewed in , Congress. Senate Judiciary Subcom- Hampshire, N.H Const. Pan I, Art. 20974), New Mexico, NM Coast mittee on the Constitution, Report Pursuant to 5. Res. 170. 95th Cong.. 1st An. 2. §18 (1973), Pennsylvania: Pa. -Cons:. An. I, §28 (1971) Texas. Tex sess. 1978. pp. 31-35, Coast. Art 1. §3a (1972); Virginia. Va. Const. An. 1, §11 (1971).. and 11:RJ.Res. 208, 92d Cong., 1st secs.. 86 Stat. 1523 (1971). Washington, Wash. Const. Art. 31, §1 (1972) The language of the I., S.. Congress, ,E..stending the Ratolicanun Pertdd for the Proposed Equal Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland. Massachusetts, Nesy Hampshire. New Mem, Rights Amendment. Heartngs On 11.1 Res. 6.18 Before the Subcomm. on Cm/ cu, Pennsylvania. Texas, and Washington provisions closely resembles that & Lanz:trio:arra: fights of the House Comm. on the Judiciary, 95th Cong,, of the proposed Federal Equal Rights Amendment. Utah and Wyoming & td sess, 1977- (statement of Arthur S Flemming and Fran M. adopted ormstotuitonal provutons regarding sex equality near the end of the Freeman), p. 334 19th centuey Utah Const. Art 4. §1(1896); Wyo. anat. An I, §§2, 3. An. S.. Commission on 0%11 Rights, Statement on the Equal Righu 6. §I (1890) Amendment (1978) (hereafter cited as 1978 ERA Statement!. '1978 ERA Statement. p. 4. Ibid.Fourteen States have added equal nghts provisions to then `Voters (apposed to ERA, But Support Its Concept." Salt Lake Tribune. constitutions since 1970- Alas)ta. Alas Cont. Aft 1, §3 (1972)r Colorado, May It. 1980 p A-1. .1 " Colo Cons' An 2. §29 (1972)-, Connecticut. Conn. Const, An I, §20 * 'bid 1 5 proposed Equal Rights Amendment, such conflict- gap between support for the principle of equal rights lng responses to the two questions are not easy to and support for ratification of the ERA itself Many reconcile. of theargb ments against ratification/appeal to fears The gap also is seen in other independent polls, and ignore facts, confusing soters and legislator* conducted nationwide, consistently showing majori- alike about the diojectis es and positise effects to bef_ ty support for the Equal Rights Arnendment.10But secured by the proposed ,amendment The purpose nationally, as in Utah, the stippart for the principle of of this report is to make clear to the women and men equality. embodied in the Equal Rights Amendment of this Ninon who belies e in the equal dignity of all is even stronger than support for the amendment indisiduals before the law that the Equal Rights itself,"indicatingthatmany, persons have not Amendment is essential to achieving this goal accepted the fact that the ERA is the most effective Although State, local, and