Equal Rights Amendment

Definition

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. It seeks to end the legal distinctions between men and women in terms of divorce, property, employment, and other matters.

Related terms

Women's Suffrage: This refers to the right of women to vote in elections. Before this was established nationally with the 19th Amendment in 1920, voting rights were largely limited to white males.

Title IX: A federal civil rights law passed as part of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 which prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or other education program that receives federal money.

Civil Rights Act of 1964: A landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities, and also women.