Nevadans for the ERA

Nevadans for the ERA is a coalition of Nevada organizations and residents and other supporters led by grassroots organizer Janette Dean beginning in April 2014 to achieve more public awareness, elected officials' support, and state legislative action for Nevada ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. The coalition continues to champion the ERA collectively and individually.

Through the coalition work, Nevada ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment was achieved March 22, 2017 after two legislative biennial sessions with the resolution being introduced and championed by the main resolution sponsor, Nevada Senator Patricia "Pat" Spearman, at our growing coalition's request on June 3, 2014.

As part of many awareness efforts on the need for women's equality, coalition participants also organized Reno's first public celebration of International Women's Day on March 8, 2017 as covered by the Reno Gazette-Journal and This Is Reno.

The Nevadans for the ERA coalition continues to support additional state ratifications including those which were completed by Illinois on May 30, 2018 and also Virginia on January 27, 2020 which became the 38th and final state required to complete ratifications by 3/4 of the current states of the United States. The coalition is now following and in full support of the legal case by the States of Nevada, Illinois and Virginia for the U.S. Archivist to publish the ERA to the Constitution immediately.

In April 2014, grassroots organizer Janette Dean — a mid-career Political Science student at the University of Nevada, Reno — began outreach efforts to Nevada residents, organizations & elected officials to ask for their help in Nevada ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Janette had been informed that month by Helene de Boissiere-Swanson of Katrina's Dream that Nevada was one of 15 states that had never successfully ratified the Equal Rights Amendment despite it already being ratified by 35 other states as of 1977. Helene had just begun her successful pilgrimage for the ERA on foot leaving from California to go visit all 15 of the unratified states at that time and also Washington D.C.

John Johnson of the Las Vegas chapter of the Progressive Democrats of America — which was part of a national group of organizations focused on state ratifications of the ERA— also began working on support for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in Nevada in 2014 so he and Janette began working together to discuss political strategy for the next Nevada biannual legislative session in 2015.

To page through Nevada's journey to ratification through the years since passage of the amendment in Congress in 1972, please view Janette Dean's Prezi presentation "Nevada Ratifies the ERA (3/22/2017) & Progress After."

Nevada Senator Pat Spearman holding a copy of her Senate Joint Resolution 2 with grassroots organizer Janette Dean and many others in the Nevadans for the ERA coalition immediately after Nevada ratified the Equal Rights Amendment on March 22, 2017. (Photo by Teri Peterson, Nevada Senate Sergeant at Arms)

Nevadans for the ERA in 2015 with Senator Pat Spearman holding her Senate Joint Resolution 16 which was later blocked from its first committee vote by the Republican Senate Majority Leader against the wishes of the committee chair. It had been likely to pass 3-2 or 4-1.

(L-R) Patricia Gallimore of NAACP Reno-Sparks; Janette Dean, ERA Grassroots Organizer; Katherine Winans of Douglas County Democrats; Nevada Senator Pat Spearman; Janet Walls (sister of Katherine); Dotty Dennis of AAUW Reno; Sarah Mahler, now Chair of the Democratic Party of Washoe County; and Gale Audia and Rosemary French of PDA Reno. (Photograph by Nevada Senate staff member Wayne Archer, March 16, 2015)