Your Turn
Ashley Cacicedo-Surdovel
Guest columnist
If I walked down the street and asked you if men and women had equal rights in the United States, would you say yes? About 70% of Americans believe that women already have equal rights. Last week, the United States Senate failed to pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Although they had 51 yes votes, they needed 60 to pass. Forty-six legislators voted no and confirmed that even in 2023, they do not consider women equal.
Why?
Do not get me wrong; women have progressed much over the past hundred years but we still have many obstacles to overcome. When your rights are not enshrined in constitutional writing, things can be complicated.
With Roe v. Wade being overturned and the Supreme Court recently reviewing the case on mifepristone, I feel uneasy knowing that the rights our mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers fought for can be revoked at any moment. In the 1960s, the Civil Rights Act granted all women the right to vote.
Women of color were excluded when the original 1920 amendment was implemented. 1965 also brought the Supreme Court case Weeks v. Southern, which permitted women to have fair working conditions and the opportunity to expand their career options.
It wasn’t until the 1970s that women gained full legal access to education programs (Title XI) and were allowed to apply for their credit cards. It was not until the 1990s that women had legal protections against domestic violence. In 2013, women were finally permitted to serve on the front lines in the military.
Women have been trying to get the Equal Rights Amendment into our constitution since the 1920s. The government set a deadline in 1982 to get 38 states to sign on, which was the first and only time in our history that a constitutional amendment was attached to a deadline. Human rights should never have a deadline!
When the 1982 deadline expired, only 35 states joined the movement. In 2020, 38 states finally acknowledged the amendment. In 2021, the House passed the amendment. Then the bill was held hostage in the Senate — until now. Our Senate’s vote showed the world that American women are still considered second-class citizens. The legislators whose job is to protect and represent us, including our U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, do not feel that 50% of the population deserves full constitutional rights.
Today, we still face unfairness. Twenty-two states tax period products. Twelve states, including Florida, have never approved or acknowledged equal rights for women. In many states, a woman cannot get her tubes tied without permission from her spouse. However,
men do not legally need permission from their partners to get a vasectomy. Despite many efforts, the gender pay gap is still real and relevant today, especially with inflation and wages not increasing. Our congressional leadership is still overwhelmingly male, at 72%.
We cannot continue to go backward. Susan B. Anthony fought for you; Gloria Steinem fought for you; Shirley Chisholm fought for you; now you need to fight for you. Please speak up, educate, and advocate. We need your voice. Men, please know you can be part of the conversation, too. Let your legislators know you want equal rights for everyone.
I cannot think of a logical reason why the United States can’t officially put “women are equal” in writing. Most of us are reasonable people willing to work towards solutions that benefit our nation. Let’s break that glass ceiling and grant equal rights to all.
Ashley Cacicedo-Surdovel is a resident of Boynton Beach.
