Golden Gate University Law Review
Article Title
Enforcing the Hidden U.S. Equal Rights Law
Abstract
Since 1945 the law of the United States has required the United States government to take action to promote universal observance of human rights for all without distinction as to sex. This equal rights for women law is part of the supreme law of the land, to be faithfully executed by the President and the Administration, to be enforced by the federal courts and by the courts of the several states, to be implemented by Congress, and to be obeyed by industry, reported by the media, and relied on and obeyed by the people in their daily lives. Busy practitioners representing women whose equal rights have been denied will save time and increase their effectiveness by making use of this hidden law. This is an opportune moment to rediscover and enforce it. The needs of women are becoming more acute in the face of increasing attacks on women's advancement. At the same time the cold war is ending, and the peace dividend must make it possible to fund some reforms. This broad equal rights law was adopted as two articles in a multilateral treaty that is better known for establishing the United Nations as the international organization to keep and promote peace. Like all treaties, on signing by the President and passage by the U.S. Senate by a two-thirds vote, it became part of the "supreme law of the land" to be enforced by the courts, under the U.S. Constitution.
Recommended Citation
Ann Fagan Ginger,
Enforcing the Hidden U.S. Equal Rights Law, 20 Golden Gate U. L. Rev.
(1990).
https://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/ggulrev/vol20/iss3/1