What Happened To The Era?
The ERA reached the required 38 state ratifications by 2020 but remains uncertified as of 2026 due to ongoing legal disputes over its expired ratification deadline.
What’s the current status of the ERA?
The ERA has secured 38 state ratifications, meeting the constitutional threshold, but it has not been certified as part of the Constitution as of 2026.
Back in 1979 Congress set a deadline for ratification, then nudged it out to 1982. Even though Nevada, Illinois and Virginia finally ratified after that date, the legality of those late votes is still being debated. In 2020 the Department of Justice issued an opinion that the deadline had run out, yet the Biden administration asked the National Archives to keep the ratifications on hold while the lawsuits play out. Currently, several federal cases are asking whether Congress can retroactively scrap the deadline; until a court or new legislation resolves the issue, the amendment sits in a sort of legal limbo (and that’s why the debate drags on).Congress.govNational ArchivesDepartment of Justice
The ERA was designed to constitutionally guarantee equal legal rights regardless of sex, but it stalled due to organized opposition, a rigid ratification deadline, and resistance from state legislators.
Originally drafted by Alice Paul in 1923, the amendment would have added the line “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex” to the Constitution. By 1977, 35 states had already ratified—an impressive early surge. Then Phyllis Schlafly’s STOP ERA campaign warned that the amendment could wipe out protective labor laws, force unisex bathrooms, and even draft women. Those warnings resonated in socially conservative states, and the momentum stalled before the 1982 deadline (generally, that’s when the opposition gained its footing).WikipediaBritannicaHistory.com
The ERA obtained 38 state ratifications by 2020, fulfilling the numerical requirement, but its official adoption hinges on whether Congress can nullify the expired deadline and courts accept the late ratifications.
When the original 1979 deadline slipped away, Congress pushed it to June 30, 1982, yet only 35 states had ratified by then. Decades later, Nevada signed on in 2017, Illinois in 2018, and Virginia in 2020, nudging the total to 38. The U.S. Archivist still won’t certify the amendment, pointing to the DOJ’s 2020 view that the deadline is binding. Supporters, however, argue that Congress can repeal the deadline with a simple majority—a claim currently being tested in the courts. Honestly, that legal tug‑of‑war is the biggest hurdle right now.National ArchivesCongress.govReuters
Why did the ERA lose?
The ERA lost because a well‑financed conservative coalition, led by Phyllis Schlafly, convinced many voters that the amendment would undermine traditional gender roles and erase existing workplace protections.
Schlafly’s STOP ERA group rallied grassroots opposition by painting the amendment as a threat to alimony, single‑sex facilities, and labor protections such as maximum‑hour statutes and maternity leave. The campaign linked the ERA to broader cultural anxieties about feminism, the draft, and federal overreach—especially in the South and Midwest where legislators feared federal meddling in family law. Even after the 1978 deadline extension, the amendment fell three states short by 1982.WikipediaBritannicaCornell Law School
What’s one big reason the Equal Rights Amendment failed?
One major reason the ERA faltered was that it overlooked the concerns of working‑class women and women of color, who relied on sex‑specific labor protections the amendment could have eliminated.
While middle‑class, predominantly white women’s groups championed the ERA as a blanket guarantee of equality, labor unions and civil‑rights groups warned that a strict sex‑neutral clause might invalidate protective legislation—think minimum‑wage rules for women, limits on daily work hours, and pregnancy accommodations upheld in cases like Muller v. Oregon (1908). That blind spot eroded potential coalition‑building and gave opponents a concrete policy argument to rally against the amendment.Cornell Law SchoolWikipediaBureau of Labor Statistics
Which states never ratified the ERA?
As of 2026, twelve states have never ratified the Equal Rights Amendment: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah.
These twelve states have never approved the amendment since Congress first sent it to the states in 1972. By contrast, Alaska, Idaho, Nebraska, Tennessee, Kentucky, and South Dakota did ratify—though they later tried to rescind those approvals, which courts don’t recognize. So the list above reflects only those states with absolutely no ratification record whatsoever.WikipediaNational ArchivesCongress.gov
How many states does the ERA need to pass?
The ERA requires ratification by three‑fourths of the states, which is 38 out of 50.
Article V of the Constitution says an amendment becomes valid when three‑fourths of state legislatures approve it. With fifty states in the Union, that means thirty‑eight approvals. The ERA hit that number in 2020 after Nevada, Illinois and Virginia added their votes, but the deadline dispute still clouds the amendment’s status.National ArchivesWikipediaCornell Law School
Can the ERA still get ratified today?
Yes, the ERA can still become part of the Constitution if Congress removes the expired deadline and the archivist certifies the existing 38 ratifications.
Here’s the thing: Congress has the power to adjust—or even scrap—ratification deadlines, as it did back in 1978 when it extended the ERA’s timeline. Supporters are now pushing H.J. Res. 17, which would retroactively eliminate the deadline and let the archivist publish the amendment. Until that happens, the amendment’s fate hangs on both legislative action and ongoing court battles over the validity of post‑deadline ratifications.Congress.govWikipediaDepartment of Justice
How did the Equal Rights Amendment even get started?
The ERA originated in 1923 when suffragist Alice Paul drafted it to guarantee constitutional equality irrespective of sex.
After women secured the vote with the 19th Amendment, Alice Paul—leader of the National Woman’s Party—drafted the ERA in 1923 to close the remaining legal gaps. The proposal lay dormant for decades until the feminist resurgence of the 1960s thrust it back onto Congress’s radar, leading to its passage in 1972. Since then, the ERA has remained a flashpoint in debates over gender equality and constitutional law.WikipediaBritannicaHistory.com
What does the U.S. Constitution say about equality?
The U.S. Constitution contains no explicit guarantee of sex equality; the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment has been interpreted to prohibit some sex‑based discrimination but does not offer the broad, sweeping guarantee the ERA would provide.
In plain terms, the Constitution only mentions equality in the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, which says no state shall deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. The Supreme Court has used that clause to strike down some sex‑based statutes—think Reed v. Reed (1971)—but it has also upheld others, leaving gaps that a dedicated ERA would fill. Most scholars agree that an explicit amendment would give a clearer, stronger foundation for challenging sex discrimination across the board.Cornell Law SchoolWikipediaSupreme Court
What was the biggest criticism of the Equal Rights Amendment?
The biggest criticism was that the ERA would abolish protective labor laws and traditional gender‑based privileges that many women relied upon.
Opponents argued that a sex‑neutral amendment could wipe out statutes setting maximum work hours, minimum wages, and maternity benefits for women—protections that had been upheld as constitutional. They also warned about unisex bathrooms, the end of alimony, and even the possibility of drafting women into the military. Phyllis Schlafly’s STOP ERA campaign amplified those fears, swaying public opinion and legislative votes in key states.WikipediaBritannicaHistory.com
Who actually backed the ERA?
The ERA was initially backed by the National Woman’s Party and later gained broad support from organizations such as the National Organization for Women, labor unions, and various civil rights groups.
Alice Paul’s National Woman’s Party spearheaded the early push in the 1920s and 1930s. By the 1960s and 1970s, the National Organization for Women (NOW) became a major champion, while labor groups like the AFL‑CIO and organizations representing women of color joined the coalition, seeing the amendment as a tool against workplace discrimination. Even some religious groups, professional associations, and bipartisan politicians threw their weight behind the measure during its congressional passage.WikipediaBritannicaNOW
When did the Equal Rights Amendment officially fail?
The ERA officially failed to meet its ratification deadline on June 30, 1982, when the congressionally imposed time limit expired without the required 38 state approvals.
Although Congress extended the original 1979 deadline to 1982, only 35 states had ratified by that cut‑off, leaving the amendment three states short. Later ratifications by Nevada (2017), Illinois (2018) and Virginia (2020) revived the conversation, but the legal status remains unresolved because the deadline’s validity is still contested. Historians and legal scholars generally point to 1982 as the moment the ERA fell short of its constitutional threshold under the original framework.WikipediaNational ArchivesDepartment of Justice
Did Montana ratify the ERA?
Yes, Montana ratified the Equal Rights Amendment in 1973.
Montana’s legislature approved the amendment on February 1, 1973, joining the early wave of states that supported the ERA. While a few states later tried to rescind their ratifications, Montana’s approval has remained uncontested and still counts toward the total needed for adoption.WikipediaMontana State GovernmentNational Archives
Did Florida ever pass the Equal Rights Amendment?
No, Florida has never ratified the Equal Rights Amendment.
Despite periodic pushes by advocacy groups, Florida’s legislature has never approved the ERA since its congressional submission in 1972. The state remains among the twelve that have never recorded a ratification vote, keeping Florida outside the coalition of states that have met the amendment’s numerical threshold.WikipediaFlorida SenateNational Archives
