Leila Jackson5/2/15Red GroupFeminism Essay Women make up more than half of the United States population but are still discriminated against today due to the failure of the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the constitution. Therefore they should be afforded the legal protection granted to minority groups. The ERA was designed to affirm the equal application of the constitution to both males and females. Alice Paul, a suffragist leader and the founder of the National Womans Party wrote the ERA in 1923. She considered it the next step after the 19th Amendment in guaranteeing equal justice under law to all citizens (ERA). At the deadline the ERA had been ratified by 35 states leaving it three states short of the 38 required for ratification (ERA). Until women are guaranteed full and equal rights, they should be protected as a minority.Despite laws that prohibit discrimination against women there are still obstacles they have to face. Most women continue to work in jobs stereotyped as female jobs and in nearly all job categories they receive less pay than men in the same categories. Affirmative action could help enforce equal pay. [Affirmative Action] has brought significant gains for women and minorities, in 1970 women comprised only 5 percent of lawyers compared to 20 percent today (Claire Andre, Manuel Velasquez, Tim Mazur). A government study showed that women made greater gains in employment doing business with the federal government, therefore subject to federal affirmative action requirements, than at other companies: female employment rose 15.2% at federal contractors, and only 2.2% elsewhere (Claire Andre, Manuel Velasquez, Tim Mazur).Phyllis Schlafly, one of the most powerful critics of the ERA, opposed the amendment because she thought that the Feminist Movement taught women to be victims. She said in an interview that [The Feminist Movement] is about treating women like victims and about telling women that you cant succeed because society is unfair to you, and I think that that is a very unfortunate idea to put in the minds of young women because I believe women can do whatever they want (Andrea Sachs). She called opposition to the ERA because she believed it would lead to homosexual marriages, women in combat, taxpayer funded abortions, unisex bathrooms and elimination of social security benefits for widows (Linda Napikoski). In Against Our Will, Susan Brownmiller wrote about how men objectified women and that rape was merely men being aggressively dominant because they thought that it was their place. She argued that the initial concept of rape was first and foremost a violation of male rights of possession based on male requirements of virginity and chastity and consent. Brownmiller would have supported the attempts for the ERAs ratification as it would have protected men and women equally against crime whether rape or not. Pornography, like rape, is a male invention, designed to dehumanize women, to reduce the female to an object of sexual access (Brownmiller). It is true that pornography objectifies women but it would only be hate speech if it was a direct promotion of rape; most of the time it is not. Womens rights have definitely improved however women are still seen as inferior especially in the working world. Women get paid significantly less (77 cents for every dollar a man earns) and are less likely than men to become leaders of companies. In my experience at school, I have seen girls been called out for wearing clothing that is considered distracting by security and been forced to change while boys with sagging pants and shirts depicting drug use and even half naked women have been left alone. Because of all these sorts of discrimination, women should be given the rights of a minority group until they are in fact equal in all areas.Works Cited"Affirmative Action and What It Means for Women." National Women's Law Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2015. .Andre, Claire, Tim Mazur, and Manuel Velasquez. "Twenty Five Years of Controversy." Santa Clara University. Santa Clara University, n.d. Web. 3 May 2015. .Brownmiller, Susan. "Women Fight Back." Against Our Will. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 374-405. Print."The ERA: A Brief Introduction." Equal Rights Amendment. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2015. ."Hidden Barriers." Workplace Fairness. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2015. .Sachs, Andrea. "Phyllis Schlafly at 84." Time Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2015. ."Students in Action." Division for Public Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2015. .