The struggle over the Equal Rights Amendment started more than a century ago when leading suffragist Alice Paul first proposed it shortly after the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote.

President Biden says he believes the amendment has met the requirements to be enshrined in the Constitution. Its history has been long and complex.

“Equality is a fundamental promise of our democracy. That is why the Equal Rights Amendment belongs in our Constitution,” Harris said in a statement. “It makes our nation stronger, and it is the law of the land because the American people have spoken in states across our nation.”

The remarks were largely a symbolic gesture of support for a century-long campaign to enshrine gender equality in the Constitution. But advocates said they could add heft to a future legal fight.

- Alice Paul, background holding rolled-up banner, takes part with suffragettes marching from the Women's Party Headquarters to the White House in the spring of 1917, to further their

Progressive activists in Congress have put mounting pressure on President Joe Biden to direct the archivist of the United States to certify and publish the Equal Rights Amendment — which would become the first explicit mention of women in the U.

President Joe Biden announced Friday that the Equal Rights Amendment should be considered a ratified addition to the U.S. Constitution, making a symbolic statement that’s unlikely to alter a decades-long push for gender equality.