Malcolm Rivera
Women have historically been excluded from constitution-making processes, with little to no representation in the final documents. Despite this, women have played a significant role in shaping constitutions worldwide. In the case of the US Constitution, women were not mentioned in the founding documents, and it wasn't until the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920 that women gained the right to vote. This was the result of a lengthy and challenging campaign that included lecturing, writing, marching, lobbying, and civil disobedience. Even then, the 19th Amendment did not guarantee voting rights for all women, particularly women of colour and those of limited financial status. To address this, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was drafted in 1921 to ensure equal treatment and protection under the law, regardless of gender identity or sex. This amendment was finally ratified in 2020, almost a century after it was first proposed. In other countries, women have influenced constitutions by broadening societal participation, building strategic alliances, advocating for gender equality, and advancing provisions for equality and inclusion.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Gender equality | The Constitution includes women by using the term "persons" instead of "men" |
| Women's right to vote | The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1920, granted women the right to vote |
| Equality in pay and healthcare | The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) ensures equal pay and fair healthcare coverage for women |
| Protection against gender discrimination | The ERA prevents the government from passing laws or taking action that discriminates against people based on sex |
| Inclusion in constitution-making | Women's civil society organizations, like the Women's National Coalition in South Africa, educate and engage women in the constitutional process, ensuring their voices are heard |
| Building strategic alliances | Women build coalitions across societal divides to advance consensus and influence policymakers |
| Creative negotiation | Women use creative strategies to overcome obstacles, such as aligning interests with dominant players or blocking procedures until negotiators agree to include them |
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What You'll Learn
Women's right to vote
Women's suffrage, or the right of women to vote, was a long and difficult campaign that required decades of agitation and protest. Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of women's suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change to the Constitution. Despite Abigail Adams's famous advice to her husband, John Adams, one of the US founding fathers, to "remember the ladies", he and the rest of the founders left any mention of women out of the founding documents. As a result, the US Constitution, which was ratified in 1788, did not grant women the right to vote.
The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, granted women the right to vote. However, this did not ensure full enfranchisement for all women. Many women, particularly women of colour and those with limited financial status, remained unable to vote long into the 20th century because of discriminatory state voting laws.
To address this ongoing discrimination, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was first drafted in 1921 by Alice Paul, a suffrage leader, and head of the National Women's Party. The ERA was passed by Congress in 1972 and has received support from leaders of both parties, multiple organizations, and persons of all walks of life. It received further support from political powerhouses including Coretta Scott King, Alice Paul, and Shirley Chisholm, who lobbied to make women’s rights a major policy issue in Congress.
The ERA is a promise that the government will not pass laws or take any official action that discriminates against its people based on sex or gender identity. It is intended to guarantee inclusion and strengthen legal protections for all Americans, regardless of gender. The amendment has now passed the 38-state threshold for ratification, with Virginia becoming the 38th state to ratify the amendment in 2020.
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The Equal Rights Amendment
The text of the proposed amendment read: "Section 1. No political, civil, or legal disabilities or inequalities on account of sex or on account of marriage, unless applying equally to both sexes, shall exist within the United States or any territory subject to its jurisdiction. Section 2. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."
In 1923, Paul revised the proposed amendment to read: "Men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction." This version was named the Lucretia Mott Amendment, after a female abolitionist who fought for women's rights and attended the First Women's Rights Convention.
The ERA was reintroduced in Congress in 1971 by Representative Martha Griffiths and approved by the U.S. House of Representatives that year. It was then approved by the U.S. Senate in 1972, thus submitting the ERA to the state legislatures for ratification, with a seven-year deadline for ratification included in the legislation by Congress. This deadline was later extended to 1982 by a simple majority of Congress.
Despite these efforts, the ERA fell three states short of the necessary 38 states for ratification by the 1982 deadline. Five states also rescinded their prior approval of the amendment. However, there are ongoing efforts to ratify the amendment, and in recent years, there has been a resurgence of women's activism and a renewed push to adopt the ERA. In 2017, Nevada became the first state to ratify the measure since 1977, followed by Illinois in 2018, and Virginia in 2020.
The purpose of the ERA is to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex, and proponents argue that it would end legal distinctions between men and women in matters including divorce, property, and employment. Opponents, however, argue that it would remove protections from women and make them eligible for the military draft.
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Women's influence on constitutions
Women have historically been excluded from constitution-making processes, with gender often being a secondary consideration during the drafting of such important documents. Despite this, women have influenced constitutions in several ways.
In the case of the US Constitution, the delegates chose to use the word "persons" instead of "men", indicating that women were included in the document's scope. However, the US Constitution does not explicitly mention women, and the founders left any reference to women out of the founding documents. The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, passed in 1920, granted women the right to vote, but it did not ensure full enfranchisement for all women, particularly women of colour and those with limited financial status.
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was first drafted in 1921 by Alice Paul, a suffrage leader, to address the shortcomings of the 19th Amendment and guarantee equal treatment for women. The ERA received support from leaders of both parties and multiple organisations, and it was passed by Congress in 1972. However, it faced fierce opposition, and it wasn't until 2020 that Virginia became the 38th and final state needed to ratify the amendment.
In other countries, women have also played a crucial role in shaping constitutions. In South Africa, during the constitution-reform process, more than 90 non-governmental organisations and 13 regional groups joined forces as the Women's National Coalition. This coalition reached out to approximately two million women from diverse racial, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds to educate them about the constitutional process and gather their input. This input was reflected in the 1996 text of the South African Constitution.
In Kenya, amid ethnic and political divides, women's groups held a "spitting session" to air their grievances and build consensus on priority issues for the constitution. Women have also influenced constitutions by forming strategic alliances with key political parties and male policymakers, advocating for gender equality and the rights of marginalised groups, and creatively navigating the constitution-making process to ensure their inclusion.
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Overcoming obstacles to influence
Women have historically been excluded from constitution-making processes, and their influence on these processes remains poorly understood. Despite this, women have played a significant role in shaping constitutions worldwide.
One way that women have overcome obstacles to influence is by building strategic alliances and coalitions. In South Africa, for example, more than 90 non-governmental organizations and 13 regional groups joined forces as the Women's National Coalition during the country's transition and constitution-reform process. This coalition reached out to an estimated two million women to educate them about the constitutional process and gather their input. By building these alliances and including a diverse range of perspectives, women were able to strengthen their access and influence in the constitution-making process.
Another strategy that women have employed is to develop expertise and assert political authority. When women have a deep understanding of the constitution-making process and the key actors involved, they can find creative ways to overcome obstacles and block procedures until negotiators agree to include them. This includes advocating for issues related to gender equality and the rights of marginalized groups.
In some cases, women have also leveraged their numbers to influence constitutions. Quotas for increasing gender balance among members of constitution-making bodies have contributed to higher levels of women's participation. While this has sometimes led to perceptions of a lack of legitimacy, women have overcome this obstacle by demonstrating their subject-matter expertise and political authority.
Additionally, women have worked to advance consensus and bridge societal divides. In Kenya, amid acute ethnic and political divisions, the women's consultative group held a "spitting session" to air their grievances and find common ground. By modeling collaboration and consensus-building, women have influenced the constitutional process and ensured that their priorities are reflected in the final document.
Finally, women have also engaged in agitation and protest to influence constitutions. The campaign for women's suffrage in the United States, for example, involved decades of lecturing, writing, marching, lobbying, and civil disobedience to achieve the right to vote. This long and difficult struggle eventually led to the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which granted women the right to vote.
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Broadening societal participation
Women have historically been excluded from constitution-making processes. In countries affected by conflict or unrest, only 19% of members of constitution-reform bodies between 1990 and 2015 were women. Despite this, women have played a crucial role in shaping constitutions by broadening societal participation and keeping policymakers informed.
During South Africa's transition and constitution-reform process, for example, more than 90 non-governmental organizations and 13 regional groups joined forces to form the Women's National Coalition. This coalition reached out to an estimated two million women across racial, cultural, and linguistic divides to educate them about the constitutional process and to learn about their problems, needs, and hopes for the future. The coalition then used this information to create a charter of priorities for the constitution, which was ultimately reflected in the 1996 text.
In Kenya, amid acute ethnic and political divides following recent violence, the women's consultative group held a "spitting session" to air their grievances and bridge societal divisions. They modelled for other policymakers how communities affected by conflict can collaborate and develop consensus on priority issues for the constitution.
In addition to broadening societal participation, women have also advanced provisions for equality and inclusion in constitutions. They have advocated for issues relating to gender equality and the rights of marginalized groups. For example, in the United States, the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, was passed in 1920 after decades of agitation and protest by women's suffrage supporters. However, it did not ensure full enfranchisement for African American women and other minority women, who continued to face barriers to voting due to discriminatory state laws.
To address these ongoing inequalities, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was first drafted in 1921 by Alice Paul, a suffrage leader, and head of the National Women's Party. The ERA is intended to guarantee inclusion and strengthen protections under the law for all Americans, regardless of gender identity or sex. By the time Congress passed the ERA in 1972, it had received support from leaders of both parties, multiple organizations, and people from all walks of life.
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Frequently asked questions
No, the US Constitution did not include women. The founders left out any mention of women from the founding documents, and there is no record of any discussion about women's rights or duties during the Constitutional Convention.
Women influenced the Constitution by advocating for gender equality and the rights of marginalized groups. They also broadened societal participation and kept policymakers informed. For example, during South Africa's transition and constitution-reform process, the Women's National Coalition reached out to an estimated two million women to educate them about the constitutional process and catalog their needs and hopes for the future.
Women have shaped the Constitution through their persistent efforts over time. For instance, the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, was the result of decades of agitation and protest by women's suffrage supporters. More recently, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), first drafted in 1921, aims to guarantee inclusion and strengthen legal protections for women.
