In 1923, the Equal Rights Amendment was proposed by the National Women’s political party to ensure legal equality for all women. The amendment guarentees equal rights for all citizens, regardless of sex, and has been an ongoing debate for ratification.
Ingham County Clerk Barbara Byrum supports the amendment and wants to see more diversity in the workplace.
“A woman in Michigan makes a few cents less for every dollar a man makes doing the same job,” Byrum said. “We are also seeing prescription coverage within counties that are not funding medications such as HIV or IUDs. This is called bias prescription coverage.”
The Equal Rights Amendment supports equality in matters of divorce, property and employment.
Virgina has become the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment as of 2020. The U.S House has also voted to remove the deadline for ratification of the amendment in hopes of reviving it.
Karisa Rodeghiero, a Michigan State University junior, recently decided to pursue a minor in Women and Gender Studies to seek political justice for the LGBTQ community.
Rodeghiero said, “the Equal Rights Amendment would cover aspects of discrimination agasint the LGBTQ community rather than the current protection of Title Nine. The laws being created today do not actually reflect what different LBGTQ communities go through, especially people of color.”
Michigan State University student and Kappa Delta sorority member Sydney Millis, focuses on empowering women and creating a fair atmosphere.
Millis said instilling values such as confidence in women is important, especially with young kids growing up to believe they can do anything. Seeing women in politics is just as important, and the day we elect a woman president will be a milestone in our society.
As an advocant for the LGBTQ community, Millis believes not only in equal rights for women, but in equal rights for all.
“In terms of equal pay and being considered fairly for a job, an Equal Rights Amendment would not only be required by law, but would emphasize that the LGBTQ community is not inferior and deserve the same opportunities,” said Millis. “I am a packaging major, which is predominantly a male industry, and I want to look forward to my career knowing I will be taken seriously.”