The lives and legislation behind the ongoing struggle for equality

Aug. 18 marked a milestone in American history — the 100-year anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. It was a step that took generations of women to climb — generations of sacrifice, setbacks and pure grit — each scrabbling upward to teeter atop their mothers’ shoulders until they could finally hoist themselves onto that level place where their vote could be cast alongside men.

What should have been the next step of the uphill battle for true equality under the law proved to be taller still — and harder to climb than anyone could have imagined. It is only now that our fingertips can grasp the ledge. We are so close and yet so very far.

This precarious position, the evolving route it took to get us here, and the many grandmothers, mothers and daughters who became the rungs of the ladder to equality — these are the focus of law professor and constitutional law expert Julie C. Suk’s new book, “We the Women: The Unstoppable Mothers of the Equal Rights Amendment” (Skyhorse).

If you are among an estimated 80% of the U.S. population, you may be surprised to learn that women’s rights are not guaranteed by the Constitution. And the means by which to achieve it, the Equal Rights Amendment

(ERA), has yet to become part of it.

True, Congress did finally pass the amendment in 1972 nearly 50 years after it was first proposed, but under U.S. constitutional law, 38 out of 50 states still needed to ratify it. And in this case, it needed ratification by 1979, a deadline that was later extended to 1982. Still, the ERA fell short of ratification by just three states.

In the last few years, three more states have stepped up to ratify the ERA. Their actions, argue some constitutional law experts, were mainly symbolic, having missed the deadline by decades. Complicating the matter are the five states that have since rescinded their ratifications. Not to mention a line of reasoning that the ERA is moot due to other legal precedents that serve to protect women’s rights, including existing constitutional amendments.

Not so, argues another camp of experts, who count Suk among their proponents. They make a strong case that the ERA can still be ratified as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution. And that it provides unique coverage of some key women’s rights not otherwise protected by the law. One of Suk’s particular areas of expertise is on rights that address the needs of working mothers and their children, a group historically underserved by the fight for women’s equality. Add to this the needs of women of color, transgender and nonbinary people, and it is easy to see how relevant the amendment continues to be to gender equality today.

If all of this sounds very technical, take heart: In Suk’s hands, the legal twists and turns — both those of today and those on the long road leading us here — are explained with such clarity and sense of intrigue to engage any educated layperson. Beyond the legal subject matter, Suk also shines in her depictions of the women throughout the generations who contributed tirelessly to the cause — some in small ways that drove big advances, and others in big ways that have received little recognition until now.

The book examines the many different voices who contributed to a shifting landscape around and within the movement — both the proponents and the detractors. These were the women from many different walks of life and points of view who debated with and rallied behind each other. There were the men, too, who helped or hurt the cause. And then there’s the political skullduggery the amendment faced at every turn, and the ingenuity and agility required to overcome the many hurdles and roadblocks thrown in its path.

In the end, “We the Women” is as much about people as it is about law and politics, making it a rewarding read for anyone interested in tales of perseverance, subterfuge and, yes, social revolution.

‘We the Women: The Unstoppable Mothers of the Equal Rights Amendment’

By Julie C. Suk; Skyhorse (256 pages, $22.99)