Pros And Cons Of The Equal Rights Amendment

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The Equal Rights Amendment was originally created by National Women’s Party to equalize men and women in their rights. Controversy was caused mainly by economical side of the ERA, according to which Equal Rights Amendment opponents were generally women, who belonged to working-class and were involved in labor, which didn’t require much of specific knowledge or qualification, and who fought against the proposed amendment because they claimed women must have some rights different from men . The main reason of tensions between these two categories of women were different views on how the privileges towards women must look like. The 1920s debate between supporters and opponents of the proposed amendment generated controversies that continue till…show more content…
On the other hand, it was opposed by those who were mostly low-qualified with difficult work conditions. Apart from that, they claimed there are several biological differences between men and women that cannot be disregarded concerning working skills. Moreover, they viewed motherhood and marriage as social duties that also must not be disregarded. To sum up what has been said, both parties had weighty arguments both pro and against the ERA. In Who won the Debate over the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1920’s?, Kathryn Kish Sklar says that opposition to the ERA “derived benefit from labor legislation that created a special category of benefits for women and they believed that the ERA threatened to eliminate those benefits” . Initially the Equal Rights Amendment was intended to guarantee equal rights for women not only in economical sphere, but in all aspects of life. Nevertheless, the main discussion was provoked by its economical part. Women…show more content…
The controversy was around the definition of women’s rights itself. While one side regarded women’s rights as something that must be equal to the men’s rights, the other side claimed that women are handicapped by their sex-based difference, which is inherited, permanent and undoubtedly affects their ability to work. The NWP members, who designed the ERA, were mostly educated women, who wanted the equal working competition amongst both men and women. They considered the sex-based legislation as an obstacle for women to have free access to wage-earning. The National Women’s Party took the position that “industrial legislation for women is industrial discrimination against them in the field of industry. Therefore, in order to remove existing inequalities between the sexes, it proposes to extend industrial legislation for women to men” . The NWP considered this to be a better way for the removal of such legislation for women. They devised not only labor, but also health and welfare legislation that also applied to men. 24/2 “There is no surer method of repealing all legal protection for women than to substitute for the laws now in force general statuses covering all persons” is stated in 24. It meant to become an entering wedge to regulate the industrial workplace and to make capitalism accountable to the larger society. Nevertheless, some argued that women are going to lose their privileges and “gain nothing but the
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