Schlafly won the battle over the ERA by recruiting and organizing a dedicated and effective group of women activists at the state and local levels. I knew several of them at the time. Like Schlafly, they combined feminine grace, courage, hard work, and political shrewdness. And after defeating the ERA, they went on to provide essential grass-roots support for Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980. Not bad for a group often dismissed by opponents and the news media as a bunch of nutty, worked up housewives.
She won the ERA battle, but did Schlafly lose the war? Today feminism advanced anyway even without the ERA. They passed state amendments and passed legislation that largely achieved the same thing. Gender roles are eroding away. Women are the breadwinner in 40% of households now. Women are pushing for combat roles in the armed forces. Gay marriage is legal. Abortion is legal.
All of Schlafy’s worries about the ERA happened anyway. Even though it was defeated.