More than 100 years after some women gained the right to vote, women in the US continue to face inequities based on sex and gender. Despite the significant advances made in recent decades, there have also been enormous roadblocks to progress and devastating steps backward.
Women’s Voting Rights
Founded out of the women’s suffrage movement, the League of Women Voters has worked for more than a century to protect and expand voting rights for all. The failure of Congress to pass voting rights legislation undermines this fundamental citizen right. Resultantly, we have seen state legislatures across the country pass anti-voter laws that threaten to silence the voices of eligible voters, with a disproportionate impact on women.
Constitutional Equality
One hundred years after the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was introduced to constitutionally protect equal rights under the law regardless of sex, our Constitution still does not protect against sex discrimination. The ERA has met all ratification requirements and must be published. It will provide the judicial branch with a vital tool to combat discrimination, protect against the rollback of equal rights, and pave the way for additional legislative progress.
Reproductive Freedom
In 2022, the US Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning the constitutional right to abortion and removing a fundamental right that women and others who can become pregnant held for nearly 50 years. As Congress has failed to codify the right of reproductive choices, one year after Dobbs, nearly half of all states are enforcing more limited abortion restrictions than before the ruling. This has had a devastating impact on people’s health and lives, which will only worsen.
Inequality hurts everyone.
Please add your name to this petition urging Congress to protect women’s rights to vote, ensure that the ERA is added to the Constitution, and restore reproductive freedom for all. Let Congress know that this is your wish list for women’s equality!