[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 211 (Tuesday, December 7, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN RECOGNITION OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

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                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 7, 2021

  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, fifty years ago this 
fall, Congress overwhelmingly passed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) 
that would ensure equality for women and prohibit discrimination based 
on sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation. In 2020, the ERA 
crossed its final hurdle to becoming a constitutional amendment when 
Virginia ratified it. Consequently, the ERA now meets the legal 
threshold for a constitutional amendment--to be ratified by 38 states. 
Without haste, the ERA must be certified and published.
  Since WWII, women have been the backbone of the U.S. economy and 
nurturers to the nation, yet they do not enjoy equal protection under 
the law from discrimination based on sex. As the former Supreme Court 
Justice Antonin Scalia once commented, ``Certainly the Constitution 
does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is 
whether it prohibits it. It doesn't.'' Today, women hold the majority 
of jobs in the nation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yet 
their pay lags their White male counterparts. Analysis by the American 
Association of University Women found that White women earn just 79 
percent compared to White men. The pay gap disparity is even greater 
for women of color, with Black women earning just 63 percent and 
Hispanic women earning a mere 55 percent compared to White men.
  The structural disparities for women in the workforce go beyond 
simply lower pay. Regardless of the industry, women's labor continues 
to be undervalued, Studies show that once women enter an occupation in 
large numbers, wages for the occupation as a whole decline, 
particularly in the service industry which blatantly devalues women's 
contributions. And again, women of color are disproportionality 
impacted, with structural disparities for women of color in the labor 
force dating back to the end of slavery. Economic growth--both business 
and personal--boomed based on the exploitation of women of color. For 
Black women, they were forced laborers under slavery and then forced 
into low-paying, exploitive jobs. Similarly, Native American women 
experienced land theft and indentured servitude, robbing them of their 
economic power. These historical systems created the occupational 
segregation that persists today, where women of color get tracked into 
undervalued careers with little power and pay. The government has long 
failed to mandate that business owners extend basic protections to 
occupations dominated by women, all while relying on them to do the 
hardest, dirtiest, and most dangerous work--a trend that has been 
magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  It is long-past time to recognize the equal value of women and enact 
a constitutional amendment to address discrimination based on sex, 
sexual orientation, and gender in our country. The ERA is necessary to 
remedy structural inequalities for women. The ERA would cause public 
and private industry to address pay inequalities, equal access to 
health care, and equal treatment under the law. The ERA would give 
women the right to demand equal protection via the courts.
  Fifty years after passage, the vast majority of Americans support the 
ERA. Specifically, a recent poll by the National Opinion Research 
Center found that three-quarters of Americans back the ERA, including 
90 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of Republicans. The House has 
passed legislation to eliminate an administrative barrier to 
certification and publishing of the ERA by removing the arbitrary 
deadline for the archivist to certify and publish the ERA. Now the 
Senate must do the same.
  As we mark the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Equal Rights 
Amendment, I reaffirm my resolute commitment to certification and 
publishing of the ERA to make our country stronger by guaranteeing that 
women as a class are equal to men. Certifying the ERA is not just 
symbolic. It is a legal anchor to dismantle systematic discrimination 
based on sex, giving women and all marginalized genders another tool to 
achieve equality. The Senate must take action now to remove the 
arbitrary deadline for the archivist to certify and publish the ERA; 
pass S.J. Res. 1 now.

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