Equal Rights Amendment

The idea for an equal rights amendment did not come about until the middle part of the twentieth century. An amendment was proposed after World War II in an attempt to gain equality between men and women. Often times, women were viewed as weaker and inferior to the male sex. Women’s rights groups were formed to prevent people from discriminating against women. These groups not only believed that women should be better treated by men, but they believed women should have the same legal opportunities. Also, they believed that gender should not determine a person’s occupation or pay. The Equal Rights Amendment started out as a proposed amendment. This amendment was introduced to congress in 1923 (Suffrage). It was not until about fifty years later, however, that the amendment was approved by the Senate. Following the Senate’s approval, the amendment was sent to the states to be ratified. The amendment ultimately read that sex should not determine the legal rights of both men and women (Women’s Health). As the focus of the women’s movement changed, the way the amendment was worded changed. These changes, however, did not lay out a specific strategy of how the proposed amendment’s ratification would be promoted. As a result, the proposed Equal Rights Amendment was not ratified. Before entering World War II, several companies in the United States were under contract to help with making equipment for the Allies. The United States entered the war very quickly. Production had to increase drastically to be able to produce enough equipment. New factories and work places were built to accommodate these drastic changes in production (Anderson). As a result, these new work places needed workers. At first, the companies did not think to hire women because they did not think there would be as big a shortage in male workers as there was. This, however, was not the case. Women workers were desperately needed by the companies. The companies needed such large numbers of workers