Equal Rights Advocates

Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) is a national civil rights organization dedicated to protecting and expanding economic and educational access and opportunities for women and girls. Through its campaign approach—incorporating public education, legislative advocacy, and litigation—ERA seeks to assist women and girls throughout a life-long continuum: ensuring equality in their educational experience, combating sex discrimination in the workforce, and advocating for workplaces hospitable to working families. Founded in 1974, ERA has been a pioneer advancing equality in work and schools for hundreds of thousands of women across the country. From ensuring the passage of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act to arguing seminal gender rights cases before the United States Supreme Court, ERA is known for being the home of visionary leaders, unflinching advocates, and hard-nosed litigators for justice. Real progress has been made in recent decades toward securing equal rights for women in the United States. But women and girls continue to face unfair practices and policies in many workplaces and schools. Women in minimum wage jobs, women of color, and immigrant women are often among the most affected by this discrimination, which comes in many forms. Women are denied equal rights when they are: -Paid less than men for the same or comparable work -Denied promotions and training opportunities -Shut out of high paying jobs and occupations -Subjected to sexual harassment -Penalized for taking time off to care for their families Through its three advocacy initiatives – Strong Girls, Women at Work, and Access to Justice – ERA works to eliminate these forms of gender discrimination so all women can realize their full potential.