To the Editor:

Progress for all New Yorkers has never been more critical, and this year, progress is on the ballot. The Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York urges you to flip your ballot and vote “yes” on Proposition 1 to enshrine the Equal Rights Amendment into the New York State Constitution.

As president of WBASNY, the largest women’s bar association in the United States, and as a litigator, I have heard from our members and seen firsthand the impact of sex and gender bias that has been pervasive in our society.

Discrimination affects many areas of life, including salaries, education, housing, and employment. From different outcomes for women and children in court to the barriers placed before clients simply because of who they are, the discriminatory policies, behaviors, and practices we see perpetuate disadvantages for certain people.

Voting for the New York Equal Rights Amendment will enshrine equal protections in the New York State Constitution.

There are many myths about the ERA. However, on its basic level, it will provide protections in New York’s constitution for women and other protected classes already recognized under the New York Human Rights Law, such as national origin, ethnicity, disability, and age.

This constitutional amendment will ensure that the essential laws protecting New Yorkers from discrimination will no longer be subject to the whims of the legislature. New York would join 29 other states with ERAs in their constitutions.

As an organization comprising attorneys, judges, educators, and others in the legal profession, WBASNY has held, and will continue to hold, information sessions to provide New York voters with the necessary information to make an informed decision at the ballot box. WBASNY encourages New Yorkers to flip their ballots and vote yes on Proposition 1.

Marea L. Wachsman,Esq.

President

Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York