“The women’s movement is strangely silent. I’m not even sure what I mean when I say ‘the women’s movement.’ We used to have one, but I don’t think I could name a single national figure – political, cultural, business – who is leading the fight for women’s rights.” – TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman, in a recent column, “The Silence of Hollywood Women in the Age of Epstein.”
Today, Aug. 26, Women’s Equality Day, marks the anniversary of the 19th Amendment’s certification.
The reality is that those of us on the front lines of feminist activism are facing not only the cultural pushback of an increasingly powerful “manosphere,” but a massive deficit in capital to break into the public consciousness, and a concerted corporate effort to silence the voices of those of us who continue to push for sex equality.
While money isn’t the only factor at play, it explains a great deal in terms of why most people have no idea about the Equal Rights Amendment, and that we are at the cusp of a potentially historic breakthrough for women and LGBTQ people – if only the public were aware of where we are and what is at stake.
On Jan. 27, 2020, the ERA became federal law, enshrining sex equality into the U.S. Constitution and guaranteeing women and LGBTQ people the equal protection of our laws. But no one seems to know this. And that ignorance is precisely what allows the type of discriminatory behavior detailed in Ms. Waxman’s article to continue to flourish, unabated and without consequence, not only in the entertainment industry but across all sectors of American society.
Women’s rights face an existential threat
We all know that the women’s movement is facing an existential threat as evidenced by the increasing rollbacks on rights we thought were secured decades ago. We are well aware of the pay disparity in Hollywood, but this inequity occurs across the board throughout the American labor market. The U.S. Government alone saves an estimated $1.7 trillion annually by underpaying women – extrapolate the number when you fold in U.S. corporations, and it is mind-boggling.
Then there is the matter of the huge amount of revenue involved in the sexual exploitation of women in porn and trafficking, which would also be adversely affected by women’s equal protection of our laws. It is really no surprise that it has been extremely difficult for the ERA to get the public visibility and traction it needs to avoid being illegally dismissed and ignored.
As an actress and filmmaker, I fell into ERA activism when showing my first feature film, “A Single Woman,” at the Smithsonian Institute in 2008. A docent dressed as a suffragist walked up to me and said, “I am the ghost of Alice Paul, back to haunt you because you have done nothing to complete the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, and women in this country still do not have equal rights.”
I was completely stunned. Like over 90% of the American population, I was unaware of this shocking fact.
In 1923, American suffragist Alice Paul wrote the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA protects all Americans and guarantees equal treatment of our laws, regardless of sex or gender, simply stating: “Equality of rights, under the law, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”
The battles women fight everyday — for equal access to education, pay, and health care — would become obsolete if their rights were protected by the Constitution. The ERA is critical to addressing — and ending — the many inequities that affect women, from pay disparities to gender-based violence.
For over 50 years, the ERA struggled to see the light of day. Then in 1972, after years of hard-fought work by millions of American women and their allies, the ERA passed in both houses of Congress and was supported by President Richard Nixon, who signed it and sent the amendment to the states. Thirty-five states went on to pass the ERA by 1977, three states short of the 38-state requirement for full ratification by three-fourths of the states.
In 2009, I formed the organization EQUAL MEANS EQUAL (originally called the ERA Education Project) and have since educated, activated, organized and mobilized women and our allies across the nation, citing the urgent need to complete the process by ratifying the last three states needed. EQUAL MEANS EQUAL has been widely credited for revitalizing the movement to complete ERA ratification after 40 years of inaction.
The main tool I used was my documentary film “Equal Means Equal.” The film was released in 2016, streaming on Amazon and distributed widely across the nation in screenings, public events and house parties. Hundreds of copies were given to legislators in the unratified states.
Nevada ratified on March 22, 2017, becoming the 36th state; Illinois then ratified on May 30, 2018; and Virginia became the final state needed in 2020.
Ratification by these states meant the ERA had now completed all Constitutional requirements for publication as the 28th Amendment as per Article V of the U.S. Constitution. It was therefore the obligation of the U.S. Government to officially adopt and enforce the ERA.
Unfortunately, this did not happen.
In an unprecedented action that interfered with the clear letter of the law, the Trump administration directed the U.S. Archivist not to publish ERA. Even more disturbing, the Biden administration continued this illegal assault on our civil rights, also refusing to publish ERA and arguing against its adoption in two court cases, the first one filed by EQUAL MEANS EQUAL in 2020.
On Jan. 17, 2025, after massive protest efforts organized by EQUAL MEANS EQUAL and our allies in Washington, President Biden reversed course and stated, “I have supported the Equal Rights Amendment for more than 50 years, and I have long been clear that no one should be discriminated against based on their sex. We, as a nation, must affirm and protect women’s full equality once and for all.” Biden went on to say that he agreed with legal scholars that the 28th amendment “has become part of our Constitution … guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex.”
Nonetheless, Biden did not ensure that the U.S. Archivist publish the amendment before he left office, effectively invalidating his statement and continuing to prove the bad faith that all major politicians and political parties have shown to women and this issue. To date, the ERA remains in limbo, unpublished and unenforced.
Having been immersed in researching the ramifications for women and the LGBTQ community, I can honestly say that there is no single more important issue with more widespread consequences for the vast majority of Americans than this one. Its adoption would completely change the lives of 170 million American women and their families for the better.
That belief makes the virtual media blackout on the issue all the more concerning.
The ERA’s uncertain future
The major pink ribbon orgs are all funded by political parties (overwhelming the Democratic Party), and let me reiterate that it is in no party’s best interest to see women gain full equality under law. Remember that both parties are funded by our corporations – and they stand to lose trillions if women win equality, to say nothing of the men overwhelmingly in power who want to continue to treat women however they like with impunity.
Over the next few months, EQUAL MEANS EQUAL will be going to court in two distinct federal cases to protect and enforce the ERA, one in Massachusetts and another in D.C.
What we need right now from Hollywood women, and all women and our allies, is for them to educate themselves on the ERA and take action to help us win this fight – a fight that we have actually already won – before it’s too late.
To answer Ms. Waxman’s question, the movement is only silent because it is being silenced, co-opted, paid off. We cannot allow the government to steal our victory after more than a century of struggle.
Kamala Lopez is the executive director of EQUAL MEANS EQUAL, the president of Heroica Films, and an actor and director.