2019
From Immigration to Incarceration:
How the E.R.A. Would Impact Women of Color
Courtesy of the The Sy Syms Journalistic Excellence Program
The ERA: Why Black Women Need It Most By: Sage Howard | August 8, 2018
The Fund for Women’s Equality reports that 80 percent of Americans believe women are protected equally under the US Constitution. That is until they, or a woman they know, stand before a judge in a court of law. It is then that they too often realize this is not necessarily the case, and for black women, this is particularly problematic. While a recent study conducted by the Institute for Women’s Research showed that black women make important and essential contributions to the productivity, wealth and success of our nation, black women also continue to account for the vast majority of incarcerated women. While the overall number of women in prison has dramatically increased from just 26,000 in 1980 to 219,000 in 2017, this spike in female incarceration has disproportionately affected black women. According to The Center for American Progress, they were twice as 2 | TEEN VOICES
likely to serve time than white women, and black women between the ages 18 and 19 were three times as likely to serve time as white women of the same age group. “The lack of an Equal Rights Amendment, which would prohibit the discrimination on the basis of sex, is especially harmful to women of color, who face discrimination both on the basis of sex and the basis of race,” says Bettina Hager, COO and DC Director of the ERA Coalition. “The discrimination women of color face is treated differently depending on which part of
their identity is being discriminated against, rather than behaviors and life circumstances has meant that drug acknowledging that the compounded effects of that dis- use, mental illness, and poverty are treated as crimes. crimination and the experiences of woman of color are The efforts to criminalize these issues coincided with the different from that of either a man of color or a white criminalization of domestic violence and resulted in the woman,” Hager continues. increased incarceration of women who are survivors of This level of discrimination is particularly visible in sexual and domestic violence,” stated Dr. Beth Ricihe, the criminal justice system, where sixty percent of in- Professor of African American Studies, Sociology, Gencarcerated women are der and Women’s in jail awaiting trial Studies, in a rebecause they can’t af- “The discrimination women of color face cent DOJ report ford bail. According titled, “The Imis treated differently depending on which to the 2017 census, pact of Incarcerpart of their identity is being discriminated black women were against, rather than acknowledging that the ation and Mandapaid only 63 cents for tory Minimums compounded effects of that discrimination every dollar paid to on Survivors.” and the experiences of woman of color are white, non-Hispanic The Equal Rights different from that of either a man of color men. Further, a 2017 Amendment study conducted by would address or a white woman.” — Bettina Hager the Prison Policy Inithe issue of sextiative found that the ual violence on median annual salathe most basic ry for black women who were unable to post bail was level by making it constitutional to create laws ensur$9,083, or only 20 percent of the income of non-incar- ing women can take legal action if they are victims of cerated white men. Since bail is typically set at $10,000 gender-based violence. It would also provide consti(just above their median annual income), many black tutional language that women can use to defend their women must remain in jail awaiting their court dates, claims, once in court. “In order to help women of color which can ultimately prove even more costly since they there needs to be a substantive conversation regarding can lose their jobs, their homes, and even some in cases, intersectional justice and insistence that the implementheir children by serving longer jail terms. tation of the ERA takes into account the compounded The addition of the E.R.A. to the US Constitution discrimination faced by women of color,” Hager adds. would succesfully address this unfair pay gap. While But, perhaps, the most famous quote for supportthere is existing legislation meant to secure fair payment ing the ERA came from the late Supreme Court Justice for women (i.e. The Equal Pay Act), this does not effec- Atonin Scalia in 2011, when he said, “Certainly the Contively challenge the institutionalized gender discrimina- stitution does not require discrimination on the basis of tion which funnels women into lower-paying jobs. The sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn’t.” Equal Rights Amendment would eliminate stipulations If this doesn’t speak for women’s urgent need for the that protect employers who exploit women, based upon ERA, nothing does! loopholes that still exist. In addition, there is currently no strict federal pol- About the author: A recent graduate of Columbia University’s icy that protects women who become victims of gen- Graduate School of Journalism, Sage Howard is a 2018 fellow der-based violence. According to a recent Department in the Sy Syms Journalistic Excellence Program, funded by of Justice report, 86 percent of incarcerated women have the Sy Syms Foundation. The Sy Syms Journalistic Excellence experienced some form of gender-based violence in their Program at Women’s eNews fellowship supports editorial and development opportunities for editorial interns in the pursuit lives. “Since the 1980s, the criminalization of certain of journalistic excellence. WOMEN’S ENEWS | 3
The ERA: The Key to Unlocking Women’s Shackles By: Sage Howard | September 12, 2018
While bringing a new life into the world can fill an expectant mother with unparalleled feelings of hope and excitement, it also brings physical pain, emotional stress, and fear. But just imagine, for a moment, if an expectant mother was also placed in shackles on her way to the delivery room, and kept in shackles during labor and post-delivery recuperation. This is just a sampling of the practices many imprisoned women face when giving birth behind bars, thereby placing a healthy pregnancy, delivery and recovery in jeopardy. Nearly 80 percent of women currently spending time in jail are mothers. Five percent of them are pregnant, and most of them are black. Since black women now earn only 63 cents for every dollar that a white, non-Hispanic 4 | TEEN VOICES
man earns, and since 80 percent of black mothers are the primary breadwinners for their households, the wage gap impacts them more significantly, particularly when they’re in the midst of raising families. Black women’s
ability to post bail therefore becomes increasingly prob- tions or guidance for pregnant women, or facilities that lematic, which can leave them behind bars for months, or offer prenatal nutrition counseling or nutritious meals to even years, awaiting trial. The Center for American Prog- incarcerated pregnant women. Additionally, over thirty ress reports that of the 219,000 incarcerated women in the states did not require screening and treatment for highUnited States, black women are two times more likely to risk pregnancies, and forty-four states did not require serve time than white women. And since they often can- pre-scheduled arrangements for deliveries. Even more not afford bail, most of these women are in jail awaiting concerning, forty-nine states failed to report a list of all trial, even though they often have less extensive criminal pregnancies, or their outcomes. Of all 50 states, a total of backgrounds compared to their male counterparts. 21 received a failing or almost failing grades. By closing the wage gap, black women would earn While women continue to be the fastest growing poputhe money they rightfully deserve, and adding the Equal lation to be incarnated in the United States, and with black Rights Amendment (ERA) to the US Constitution would women making up the majority of this population, it is help them do exactly that. According to NOW, the ERA fair to argue that imprisonment has a direct impact on the could help move pay rates of infant mortalequity legislation that ity within the black has been stuck in Concommunity. “There gress for several years “In the US, we have an adversely punitive are still six states in culture that doesn’t allow for putting the and provide a more the US where women interests of an innocent and helpless effective tool for sex are shackled during -based employment childbirth,” Allers baby first. Prison policies were created discrimination litigacontinues. “In the US, by men for a predominantly male tion. Further, it may we have an adversely population. Since women now reflect a also exert a positive punitive culture that growing prison population, it is time for influence in helping to doesn’t allow for puta change.” — Kimberly Seals Allers raise pay in numerous ting the interests of an occupational categoinnocent and helpless ries where wages are baby first. Prison pollow simply because icies were created by these occupations are traditionally and primarily held by men for a predominantly male population. Since women women, such as retail clerks, home health aides, nursing now reflect a growing prison population, it is time for a aides, and waitresses. change.” This unfortunate reality is a further reflection of the Perhaps the issue can best be summed up by Ash Wiltrickle-down effect of systems that fail to protect black liams, North Carolina organizer for SisterSong, a southern women. Incarcerated black woman whose pregnancy based, national membership organization whose mission ends fatally not only fall victim to lower wages, but also is to improve institutional policies and systems that imthe daunting truth about infant mortality that is sweeping pact the reproductive lives of marginalized communities. the black community –infants born to black mothers die “We don’t want an alternative to shackling,” Williams at twice the rate as those born to white mothers. say. “We want an alternative to prison, which makes the “We know that stress impacts birth outcomes, there- shackling possible.” fore incarcerated women are at a higher risk of preterm And that is exactly what the ERA can help accomplish. births and low birthweight babies, which puts that infant at a greater risk of not surviving to its first birthday,” says About the author: A recent graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Sage Howard is a 2018 fellow Kimberly Seals Allers, a maternal health advocate. Further, a recent investigation conducted by The Na- in the Sy Syms Journalistic Excellence Program, funded by tional Women’s Law Center into each state’s protections the Sy Syms Foundation. The Sy Syms Journalistic Excellence for incarcerated pregnant women found the following that Program at Women’s eNews fellowship supports editorial and development opportunities for editorial interns in the pursuit more than forty states did not require medical examinaof journalistic excellence. WOMEN’S ENEWS | 5
The ERA Would Keep Immigrant Women Safe and Secure By: Kayla Seals Allers | October 24, 2018
“The future is female. The future is the ERA.”
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The American Dream — a bright future that gives immigrants hope for security and success upon arrival in the United States. Yet, over time, the American Dream has transformed from an open welcoming for all to a selective term catering to white privilege. As a result, immigrant women are often tossed aside, overlooked and undervalued. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, approximately 21 million immigrant women currently reside in the US, yet they face a variety of challenges ranging from poverty and healthcare limitations, to abuse in the workplace. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 27.4 million immigrants in the US labor force in 2017, and 54.5% of them were women. Yet they often remain stuck in a vicious cycle preventing them from advancing in society. For example, female immigrants are more likely to work in production, transportation, and moving operations, rather than working in professional occupations. Their most common job is housekeeping; the cleaning industry is comprised of 88% women, including 49% Hispanic or Latino immigrants who earn an average of $32,000 annually, compared to US citizens who earn $39,000. Discrepancies such as these cause immigrant women to remain one of the largest victims of poverty. Adding the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the US Constitution would help end these unfair practices. The ERA is designed to guarantee equal legal rights between women and men regarding health care, job opportunities, and equal pay, among others. Specifically, the newly proposed ERA, states that the Equality of rights shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex (including pregnancy, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity), and/or race (including ethnicity, national origin, or color), and/or like grounds of subordination (such as disability or faith). Neither the United States nor any State shall give force by law to disadvantages suffered by those whose equality rights are denied or abridged. By including the words ‘national origin,’ the ERA would help ensure that immigrant women would be entitled
to safe and fair treatment, regardless of which country they were born in. The lack of basic healthcare is also a challenge for many immigrant women. According to a 2016 Migration Policy Institute report, approximately 20% of immigrants were uninsured, compared to 7% of US born. Additionally, only 66.3% of immigrant women ages 1863 are currently covered by their employer, compared to 84.6% of American-born women in the same age range. Further, immigrants who have lived in the US for five years or fewer are prohibited from enrolling in Medicaid, which offers some of the most basic and crucial health care services, including prenatal care. Yet, it is not only immigrant women who suffer from these unfair practices. Since they now account for 40% of all immigrant business owners, and 95% of domestic workers, their labor contributions are invaluable to our nation’s families, as well as society as a whole. It can be said that being a female citizen in America is challenging enough, due unfair wages, higher health insurance costs, sexual harassment on and off the job, and many other forms of gender discrimination. These issues are even more problematic for immigrant women, but the ERA can help put an end to that. The future is female. The future is the ERA. About the author: Kayla Seals Allers, a freshman at Spelman College, is a 2018 fellow in the Sy Syms Journalistic Excellence Program at Women’s eNews, funded by the Sy Syms Foundation.
WOMEN’S ENEWS | 7
How the ERA Can Keep Incarcerated Mothers in Their Children’s Lives By: Sage Howard | October 30, 2018
In the United States, 75 percent of incarcerated women are also their children’s primary caregivers. And while these women are spending time in prison, their children are often spending time in some form of foster care. For women of color, these numbers are even more staggering, The Pew Charitable Trusts found that one in nine black children have a parent incarcerated, compared to only one in 57 white children. These num8 | TEEN VOICES
bers are directly linked to statistics showing that of the 219,000 incarcerated women in the United States, twothirds of them are women of color. Further, a significant number of women who are incarcerated are not even
convicted, and more than a quarter of women who are often suffer from separation anxiety, traumatic stress and behind bars have not yet had a trial. survivor’s guilt. Children between the ages of 7-10 may This data is particularly problematic for women of develop poor self-esteem, an inability to deal with fucolor: Black women are going to jail at higher rates than ture traumatic stress, and even regressive behavior; and their white female counterparts, a significant number of children between the ages of 11-14 may begin to reject these women have been convicted of only minor offens- limits to their trauma-reactive behavior. For children age es, and a large percentage of these women are losing care 15-18, experiencing their own parent(s) in prison can of their children until their release. Clearly, the effects of lead to criminal behavior that may result in their own mass incarceration extend beyond the individual cells incarceration as well. that hold black women back by disrupting the lives of Of further concern to incarcerated mothers is the people who need them most. the federal law, the Adoption and Safe Families Act, Since the US Constitution still does not include an passed in 1997 by former President Clinton, which Equal Rights Amendgives states the right ment, black women to terminate parental have even less prorights for children When a court determines the fate of a tection under the law. primary caregiver, it is also determining who have been in They are less able to foster care for 15 out the fate of the child she is caring for. afford bail, since they of the last 22 months. are paid just 61 perWhile the purpose of cent of what non-Histhe act is to prevent panic white men are currently paid. This causes more children from spending long periods of time in foster black women to remain in jail while awaiting trial, caus- care, thousands of mothers have lost their parental ing their children to become hidden victims. rights to their children since the average sentencing Currently, there are 2.4 million hidden victims living time for a mother is 36 months. Leading to permanent in the shadow of their parents’ incarceration. When a separation from their families, these children are often court therefore determines the fate of a primary care- placed in homes with strangers who are paid to care giver, it is also determining the fate of the child she is for them, or in state agencies where they run the risk caring for. While a mother serves time, her child may of never being adopted. only be allowed limited visits, or in some cases, no visClearly, this vicious cycle, which begins with unfair its at all. This lack of support can have harsh effects on and unequal wages particularly affecting women of colchildren’s overall wellbeing, both from a financial and or, further impacts the innocent lives of their children mental health standpoint. when their mothers are incarcerated. Adding the ERA To try to keep their children with family members, 45 to the US Constitution would help ensure that women percent of incarcerated mothers rely on their children’s are paid equally, thereby providing greater financial regrandparents to raise their children. But, according to sources for women most affected by mass incarceration. the Prison Fellowship, as much as 80 percent of these And this, most importantly, will help keep mothers in children end up in households where there is extreme the lives of their children. financial strain. The Urban Institute Justice Policy Center found that for children who live with their grand- A recent graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School mothers, one in four of these children lives in poverty. of Journalism, Sage Howard is a 2018 fellow in the Sy Syms Further, 66 percent of their grandparents are not provid- Journalistic Excellence Program, funded by the Sy Syms Foundation. The Sy Syms Journalistic Excellence Program ed with any financial support to raise the child. Children may also experience emotional side effects at Women’s eNews fellowship supports editorial and development opportunities for editorial interns in the pursuit of from having their mothers incarcerated for any period journalistic excellence. of time. Children between the ages of 2-6, for example, WOMEN’S ENEWS | 9
How the Equal Rights Amendment would Strengthen the 14th Amendment By: Kayla Seals Allers | November 18, 2018
It is no secret that Donald Trump has long-wanted to eliminate Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which grants automatic US birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants. It was an idea he had even expressed during his presidential campaign. Yet while his ability to do so through an executive order remains unclear, what is very clear is that eliminating this amendment would hurt immigrant women most. 10 | TEEN VOICES
In 2016, for example, over 460,000 women who im- decided that the Fourteenth Amendment did prohibit migrated to the US had an immediate relative who was a unequal treatment on the basis of sex. This was the first US citizen, or did so through some other form of family US Supreme Court decision to apply the Fourteenth sponsorship. The suggested cuts by the Trump-Grass- Amendment’s equal protection clause to gender or sexley legislation, however, would potentially prohibit as ual distinctions, and one that was argued by Ruth Bader many as 200,000 women from immigrating annually, Ginsburg, then a lawyer with the American Civil Liberand these women, in many cases, are primary drivers ties Union. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that of their families’ integration. the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause does These cuts would further impact adults between the indeed apply to women. ages of 25 and 54, considered to be prime working ages. Yet, it is clear that this ruling did not go far enough, For immigrant women in this age group, specifically, as evidenced by the now famous quote by Supreme their numbers would Court Justice Androp by more than tonin Scalia (who 110,000 per year. And died in 2016), when “I would like my granddaughters, when since only 12 percent he told a law school they pick up the Constitution, to see of women are able to audience in 2010 that that notion – that women and men are currently enter the US the Constitution does through employment not guarantee equalpersons of equal stature – I’d like them based preferences, ity for women. “Noto see that is a basic principle of our they have to rely more society.” — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg body thought it was on family-based imdirected against sex migration and the didiscrimination,” he versity-visa programs. claimed. The removal of many of these family-based immigration And that is why the Equal Rights Amendment must programs would therefore affect women’s immigration be added to the Constitution. It would not only sigopportunities most. nificantly improve women’s chances of receiving equal It was the 14th Amendment, in fact (ratified on July pay for equal work, but would also provide them with 9, 1868), that ultimately provided women with equal im- a higher standard of protection from gender-based vimigration rights by granting citizenship to “all persons olence, while making it harder to deny them access to born or naturalized in the United States.” Additionally, health care, and accommodations during pregnancy. it forbade states from denying any person “within its “If I could choose an amendment to add to the Conjurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This, de- stitution, it would be the Equal Rights Amendment,” spite the second article of the Fourteenth Amendment Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in 2014. “I would like introducing the word “male” into the Constitution in my granddaughters, when they pick up the Constitution, respect to voting rights, gave women’s rights advocates to see that notion – that women and men are persons of the wording they felt they needed at the time to make equal stature – I’d like them to see that is a basic principle a case for women’s rights (including suffrage) on the of our society.” basis of the first article of the Amendment, which did not distinguish between females and males in granting About the author: Kayla Seals Allers, a freshman at Spelman College, is a 2018 fellow in the Sy Syms Journalistic citizenship rights. Still, it wasn’t until 1971, in a case where the Supreme Excellence Program at Women’s eNews, funded by the Sy Court heard arguments of Reed v. Reed, that the Court Syms Foundation.
WOMEN’S ENEWS | 11
On the Outside of Incarceration: The Need for the ERA By: Sage Howard | November 29, 2018
Women bear the brunt of the costs, both financial and emotional, when their loved ones are incarcerated. According to a recent study by the Ella Baker Foundation for Human Rights, in 63% of cases, family members on the outside are primarily responsible for court-related costs associated with conviction, and of the family members primarily responsible for these costs, 83% are women. This is especially problematic for black women, since their family members are five times more likely to be incarcerated than their white counterparts.
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The costs associated with incarceration include phone calls, visitation, commissary, and health care, which often result in severe financial consequences for families on the outside... Often, families are forced to choose between supporting incarcerated loved ones and meeting the basic needs of family members who are outside.
This impacts black women and their families more significantly than others, deepening inequities and societal divides that have pushed many into the criminal justice system in the first place, since two out of every five Black women are related to someone who is incarcerated. This can further jeopardize their own stability, since the family’s financial burdens disproportionately fall upon women in the family who may also have children living at home. For example, almost half of family members primarily responsible for paying court-related costs are mothers, and one in ten are grandmothers. Specifically, the costs associated with incarceration include phone calls, visitation, commissary, and health care, which often result in severe financial consequences for families on the outside. One in three families (34%) reported going into debt to pay for phone calls or visitation. Often, families are forced to choose between supporting incarcerated loved ones and meeting the basic needs of family members who are outside. Research conducted with visitors at San Quentin State Prison in California showed similar results. The majority of women in that study reported spending as much as one-third of their annual income to maintain contact, and for a number of these women, including many who are mothers, these costs often put them into debt. Further barriers exist based on race and ethnicity,
including fewer jobs for black people previously incarcerated, as well as restrictions on travel. For Latinos, documentation status is a more likely barrier to finding work. These challenges only serve to prolong the financial burden placed on women and these families. For women of color, the financial load that comes with supporting a loved one in prison is often amplified by the reality that there is no Equal Rights Amendment in the US Constitution. The ERA would help ensure that women, of all races, would have the right to employment earnings equal to white, non-Hispanic men (the highest income earners in the US). According to the 2017 census, black women were paid only 63 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. And even in states with large populations of Black women in the workforce, rampant wage disparities persist, with potentially devastating consequences for Black women and families. Black women in the District of Columbia, for example, are paid only 52 cents, in Maryland only 69 cents, in Pennsylvania just 68 cents, and in Mississippi only 56 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. Further, Black women in Louisiana are paid just 47 cents, in Texas only 58 cents, and in Utah,just 52 cents for every dollar paid to a white, non-Hispanic man. One could only imagine how much easier it would be for
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With the ratification of the ERA by the state of Nevada in 2017 and by the state of Illinois in 2018, one more state is needed to ratify the ERA to achieve the initial 38 states for federal ratification as determined in 1982.
Black women to support themselves and their families while a family member is incarcerated if the ERA were included in the Constitution. What would it take to ratify the ERA? There are two options, really: The traditional constitutional amendment process is described in Article V of the Constitution, where Congress must pass a proposed amendment by a two-thirds majority vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives and send it to the states for ratification by a vote of the state legislatures. The amendment becomes part of the Constitution when it has been ratified by three-fourths (currently 38) of the states. This process has been used for ratification of every amendment to the Constitution thus far. Article V makes no mention of a time limit for the ratification of a constitutional amendment, and no amendment before the 20th century had a time limit attached to it. The second option is the three-state strategy for ERA ratification, which was developed following the 1992 ratification of the “Madison Amendment” as the 27th Amendment to the Constitution after a ratification period of 203 years. Given that acceptance, some ERA advocates contended that the ERA’s ratification period of just over two decades would surely meet the “reasonable” and “sufficiently contemporaneous” standards required by Supreme Court decisions in 1921 and 1939. Time limits were not attached to proposed amendments until 1917, and Congress demonstrated its belief that it may alter a time limit in a proposing clause by extending the original ERA deadline. Precedent regarding a state’s
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ability to withdraw its ratification by a rescission vote shows that such actions have not been accepted as valid. Thus, supporters argued, the 35 existing ratifications should still be legally viable, and Congress likely has the power to adjust or repeal the previous time limit on the ERA, determine whether state ratifications subsequent to 1982 are valid, and recognize the ERA as part of the Constitution after three more states ratify. This mode of ratification is getting closer to potential realization. With the ratification of the ERA by the state of Nevada in 2017 and by the state of Illinois in 2018, one more state is needed to ratify the ERA to achieve the initial 38 states for federal ratification as determined in 1982. If one more state ratifies the ERA, the ratification process will move into the courts for determination regarding the constitutionality of the original deadline that was originally applied The states that have not ratified the ERA yet include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia, Currently, bets are on Virginia to become the 38th state, which could be done as early as its next legislative session, starting in Richmond on January 9th, 2019 A recent graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Sage Howard is a 2018 fellow in the Sy Syms Journalistic Excellence Program, funded by the Sy Syms Foundation. The Sy Syms Journalistic Excellence Program at Women’s eNews fellowship supports editorial and development opportunities for editorial interns in the pursuit of journalistic excellence.
would like to thank
the Sy Syms Foundation for its funding of the
Sy Syms Journalistic Excellence Program at Women’s eNews, providing editorial and development opportunities for editorial interns in the pursuit of journalistic excellence.
WOMEN’S ENEWS | 15
2019
From Immigration to Incarceration:
How the E.R.A. Would Impact Women of Color
Courtesy of the The Sy Syms Journalistic Excellence Program