Why was the Equal Rights Amendment defeated?

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Equal Rights Amendment
Introduction
The struggle for gender equality in the United States commenced in the late 1960s. The majority of women had a belief that many legal gender-based inequities depicted the American constitution. The Constitution only provided for the rights of few white males while women were being treated with regards to English common law and America cultural tradition. The proponents of women rights stated that the constitution did not provide for legal rights for women. Between the year 1972 and 1982, women activists aired their grievances through rallies, picketing, hunger strike, marching, lobbies, petitioning, and civil disobedience. Owing to these grievances, Crystal Eastman and Alice Paul who was the pioneer of National women’s party drafted the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). In the year 1923, the proposed amendment was introduced in the Congress for the first time by the National Women Party. In 1970, the House approved the amendment; similarly, the Senate endorsed the changes. It was further submitted to the state legislatures for the ratification. The amendment barely received 35 of the needed 38 states ramifications, leading to its defeat. The paper endeavors to clearly explain the primary reasons that led to the defeat of Equal Rights Amendment.
Discussion
As mentioned in the introduction, the ERA was an amendment that would provide equality for women in the United States. Its passage in the House of Congress and the Senate was great news for the activists who believed that the American constitution must advocate for equality in the treatment of women.

But their happiness was short-lived when the amendment failed to garner 38 states ratifications. Before discussing the reasons as to why the amendment failed, it is important to highlight the constitutional procedure for amending a constitution.
Procedure for Amending a Proposal
In the United States of America, the modification of the constitution has a two-step procedure. First, the amendment should be introduced in the House of Congress. After the introduction of the amendment, it must be proposed by a two-thirds majority in the House. After which, the Senate must also offer two-thirds majority approval. Secondly, once the amendment has been successfully approved by the two legislative institutions; it must be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislature. After which, the American constitution is changed.
Reasons for the Defeat of the ERA
One of the major reasons as to why the ERA faced a defeat was the opposition from Phyllis Schlafly. The mentioned woman was a constitution lawyer and had much influence among women. Her legal career assisted her to implore that ERA would exterminate laws that have been designed to protect women. By using her legal interpretation, she admonished women on the dangers that would arise if ERA comes into place. On a similar note, the opponents of ERA argued that the passage of the amendment would not only take away the protective laws such as the sexual assault but also eliminate alimony. They further alleged that its passage would lead to the ban of the single-sex restrooms by the court. In essence, they believed that all gains of women in the constitutions would be taken away.
The disunity among American women was another factor that led to the defeat of ERA. The women failed to work together but instead fought each other. Amazingly, men were the ones expected to oppose the amendment, but women became enemies of themselves and voted against their rights. A leader such as Gloria Steinem strongly advocated for the ERA but faced a resistance from a fellow woman such Phyllis Schlafly who had a substantial influence. As a result, women disunity and arguments of Phyllis and other opponents of ERA, the three states shy of the necessary ratifications.
Conclusion
Inclusion, the ERA was an amendment that would have led to the removal of all legal gender-based discrimination in America. Its success would have resulted in women having a constitution that advocate for their legal rights. It received approval from the Congress and Senate but only garner 35 of the needed 38 ratifications, leading to its failure. The constitution demands that for any amendment, the proposal must receive a two-thirds majority in both Houses and three-fourths ratification from states legislations. The primary reason for the failure of ERA was disunity among women and strong opposition from Phyllis Schlafly.