Prior to the implementation of gender-based protection laws, the status of women – particularly minority women – in the legal system was virtually nonexistent. Treated as subordinates to men, discriminatory laws hindered the role of women in society and excluded them from obtaining equal status. Despite the adoption of the Equal Rights Amendment, the remnants of discriminatory practices continue to permeate as women, today, continue to fight for gender equality.
As the honorable late Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said... "Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It should not be that women are the exception."