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Workplace inequality is multiple phenomena that, overall, cause women to be discriminated against in the workplace, leading to overall financial disparity between men and women. Some of these phenomenon include the gender pay gap, workplace harassment, and more detrimental effects on women's careers after parenthood.

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https://www.equalrightsamendment.org/

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The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), first proposed in 1923, is an amendment to the United States Constitution that guarantees equality of rights under the law for all persons regardless of sex.

As of January 27, 2020, the ERA has satisfied the requirements of Article V of the Constitution for ratification (passage by two-thirds of each house of Congress and approval by three-fourths of the states).

Leading constitutional scholars agree that the ERA is now part of the Constitution. Because of issues raised about its unique ratification process (explained on the Frequently Asked Questions page), the Archivist of the United States has not yet taken the final ministerial step of publishing the ERA in the Federal Register with certification of its ratification as the 28thAmendment.

"Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."

Has your state ratified the ERA?

Find out which states have ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, and when they did.

How Can You Help?

We give you the tools you need to be an effective advocate for the ERA. Check out our ERA Toolkit for ready-to-post social media items, white papers, presentations, and much more to help you ratify the ERA to the U.S. Constitution. All items are FREE for you to download!

When the 117th U.S. Congress convened in full for the first time on Thursday, January 21, 2021 resolutions with bipartisan support were introduced to remove the time limit placed upon the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972.

On Wednesday, March 17, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to remove the time limit with a vote of 222-204 on HJ Res 17. Attention now turns to the U.S. Senate and moving SJ Res 1 to the floor for a vote.

Click HERE to learn more.

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The Equal Rights Amendment is a constitutional amendment that will guarantee legal gender equality for women and men. This website is dedicated to educating and inspiring citizens to ratify the ERA, which was written by equal rights activist Alice Paul in 1923.

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https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/05/25/gender-pay-gap-facts/

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The gender pay gap is a phenomenon in which women earn less than men over a variety of jobs. The issue still persists today, and women are generally the ones being affected by it throughout the United States. The main impact of the pay gap is economic inequality, as many women are unable to earn the same as men because of circumstances beyond their control.

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Gender discrimination and harassment are two phenomenon that take place in workplaces across America, and they tend to impact women more negatively than men, with studies showing that 22% of men experienced gender discrimination at work, as opposed to 44% of women. This type of discrimination based on gender can lead to lost opportunities for women to move up the professional ladder, hindering their ability to be more successful financially and professionally.

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Between men and women, it is more common for women to experience more of a negative impact on their careers than men when taking time off of work for parenthood. A survey conducted among male and female parents showed that almost twice as many women felt that taking time off of work for parenthood had a negative impact on their career. This can lead to both career progress and opportunities being lost, ultimately leading to a less success professionally and financially.

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aauw.org/app/uploads/2020/03/quick-facts-Equal-Pay-nsa.pdf

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This act aims to limit or remove loopholes in previous laws that allows employers to pay women less than men for jobs. If this bill is successful, it could be a huge step forward for workplace equality.

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https://www.aauw.org/resources/policy/position-paid-leave/

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Unlike the majority of developed countries worldwide, the United States does not guarantee paid annual leave, paid time off for illness or family care, or paid parental leave. Without these policies, balancing the responsibilities of work and family can be difficult for employees-negatively impacting productivity, making recovery from major illnesses or injuries difficult, and in some cases inhibiting the healthy development of children. For the millions of Americans without paid sick days, a decision to stay home to care for a sick child or family member could jeopardize their job or family income.

AAUW in Action

All public policy actions take direction from the AAUW Public Policy Priorities, voted on by members every two years. AAUW is a nonpartisan organization-but nonpartisan does not mean "non-political." Since its first meeting in 1881, AAUW has been a catalyst for change. Together, through our coordinated and strategic advocacy, we've enacted invaluable legislation at the federal, state and local levels. The 2021-2023 Public Policy Priorities call for the availability of and access to quality paid family, medical and sick leave.

The public policy team engages in many efforts on this key issue, including but not limited to:

Working in coalition with other gender equity organizations, including the National Work and Family Coalition and Paid Leave Legislative Working Group.

Mobilizing AAUW advocates and members through targeted calls to action on important legislation, like the FAMILY Act and Healthy Families Act.

Engaging directly with elected leaders and the public through calls, letters to political offices, and comments and testimony in hearings.

Providing voter education resources on key equity issues to consider during elections and offering information on how elected officials have voted in the past (more about this and Get Out the Vote guides at the AAUW Action Fund).

Paid Family and Medical Leave

At some point, most workers will need time away from work to deal with a serious personal or family illness or to care for a new child. Unfortunately, only 23% of those working for employers with more than 500 employees have access to paid family leave through their employer; and only 9% of those working for employers with under 100 employees do. Among the lowest-wage workers, many of whom cannot afford to lose income by taking time off work, only 7% have access to paid family leave. Without access to paid leave, workers, especially women and mothers, face the continuing economic disadvantage of lost wages and are forced to prematurely return to work.

While the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993, which provides job-protected, unpaid leave, was an important first step, its promise remains out of reach for many. FMLA fails to cover about 40% of workers, including those at companies with fewer than 50 employees, those who have been with their employer for less than a year, and those who have not met the required number of annual hours. Even when covered under FMLA, many workers cannot afford to take unpaid leave without endangering their economic security.

A federal paid leave program would build stronger families and healthier workers. Paid leave contributes to improved newborn and child health by allowing both parents the time they need to help with health care decisions and responsibilities. Further, it allows ill or injured workers time to recover and enables people to help their loved ones to recover from illness and avoid complications, thereby reducing hospital readmissions and health care costs.

Paid leave helps businesses by improving employee retention and reducing the high costs of turnover, such as advertising, interviewing, and training new hires. A comprehensive review found that the cost of turnover can range from 16-200% of an employee's annual compensation, making such unnecessary turnover very costly for employers. In California, for example, workers in low-wage, high-turnover industries are much more likely to return to their jobs after using the state's family leave insurance program.

Paid Sick Days

In addition to lacking federal paid family and medical leave, more than 26 million private-sector workers-nearly one-quarter of the workforce-cannot earn paid sick days. Low-paid workers are especially hard hit, with only 33% of the lowest-paid workers having access to paid sick days. Without access to paid sick days, workers are forced to make difficult decisions when they fall ill: jeopardize their employment and forgo a paycheck, or go to work sick. For those who work in public-facing industries, such as food service, that endangers public health.

Today, only 60% of working women have some access to paid sick days and nearly 40% of mothers say they are solely responsible for staying home from work with sick children, compared with only 3% of fathers. Women disproportionately bear the economic cost of taking children or elderly family members to the doctor. Yet, many women delay seeking health care for themselves because they cannot take time off work, affecting their capacities as employees and primary caregivers.

If hardworking Americans have access to a minimum number of earned sick days that can also be used to care for sick family members, working parents and caregivers will no longer have to make the difficult choice between caring for loved ones, or themselves, and losing much-needed income. For a family without paid sick days, three days of pay lost to illness can be the equivalent of their monthly health care or food budget.

Paid sick days are also good for workforce stability and business productivity. Workers who do come into work sick are significantly less productive-amounting to a loss of $218 billion per year. Paid sick days help reduce these unnecessary costs for employers.

Paid Leave during the Pandemic

For many Americans, unpaid time off work is untenable and threatens their economic security. During a pandemic, this can mean choosing between livelihood and life. Among service workers, who have continued to serve as a critical workforce throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, only 59% have access to paid sick days and a mere 15% have paid family leave.

Many parents, particularly women, cannot return to the workforce without access to paid leave and child care-as of April 2021, 1.5 million mothers had still not returned to the workforce. As women continue to bear a disproportionate burden of our country's ongoing economic and health crises, Congress must take steps to support working women and families and enact comprehensive paid family, medical, and sick leave in crisis recovery legislation.

Supporting Universal Paid Leave

AAUW supports the passage of federal legislation that promotes work-life balance, including paid family, medical, and sick leave.

The FAMILY Act would create a national, self-funding paid family and medical leave insurance program for most of the U.S. workforce. The FAMILY Act is an affordable, cost-effective, and sustainably-funded solution that does not cut or reduce other essential benefits.

The Healthy Families Act would ensure full-time workers in businesses with 15 or more employees can earn up to seven job-protected paid sick days each year. Workers could use these sick days for their own medical needs, to provide care for a sick family member, or to recover from or seek assistance related to an incident of domestic violence, stalking or sexual assault.

Until there is universal federal paid leave, workers will continue to rely on states to enact these important policies. Currently, 9 states and the District of Columbia that have a paid family and medical leave insurance law, while 13 states and the District of Columbia, along with many smaller jurisdictions, have paid sick time laws.

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Unlike the majority of developed countries worldwide, the United States does not guarantee paid annual leave, paid time off for illness or family care, or paid parental leave. Without these policies, balancing the responsibilities of work and family can be difficult for employees-negatively impacting productivity, making recovery from major illnesses or injuries difficult, and in some cases inhibiting the healthy development of children.

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Many women don't get paid parental and sick leave. This can cause them to either face the economic disadvantages of losing wages or return to work before they have fully recovered. By giving paid parental and sick leave, women will not have to contend with these issues and can work and take care of themselves/their families at the same time.

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There are many organizations fighting for the changes mentioned above, such as the AAUW (American Association of University Women). With sustained pressure on the legislative bodies of America, workplace inequality can be eradicated.