Button that supports equality between men and women; "A man of quality is not threatened by a woman of equality."[2]

Women in Utah were divided about equality in the workplace in the late 20th century. Some women wanted complete equality, while other women wanted to maintain the status quo. Many women argued that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Pay Act were already enough to protect them; however, others feared that these laws were approaching extinction and full equality would never be achieved with just those two pieces of legislation.[1] One uniting issue was the massive numbers of women and children living in poverty in Utah. Activists turned their attention to rising levels of poverty, differences in salary between men and women, protective labor laws, discrimination between genders and races, and sexual harassment in the workplace. It was clear that activists, in keeping with Utah's conservative climate, needed to collaborate with those in power and within the legal system to fix the serious problems within the labor force in Utah.

Graph detailing the statistics of Utah women in and out of labor force in 1970; age, marital status, and number of children are included.[3]

In 1970, the labor force in Utah was 38% female and 62% male; about 50% of Utah women between the ages of 18 and 64 were employed, and all of these female workers faced employer discrimination.[4] Whether they were married, single, divorced, separated, or widowed, many women in Utah had to work in order to survive.[5] Although some Utahns felt strongly that childcare and housekeeping were women's primary responsibilities, economic realities meant that many women needed to work full-time in order to support their families and themselves. With so many women in the workforce, legislation had been enacted in the past to foster equality. Unfortunately the income gap between men and women remained a substantial amount. In 1970 the average annual income of a male sales worker was around $9,454, while his female counterpart's income was only $3,818. Salaries for male managers and proprietors averaged around $11,408 a year, while females were paid $5,937.[6] With only these two occupations as examples, it is obvious that there was a large income gap that the previous laws had failed to close.

Sponsored by the Utah Departent of Employment Security, this pamphlet was handed out at a seminar for equal opportunity employment for women in Utah in 1970.[7]

In Utah, women simply weren’t making the same amount as men for the same occupations, and they weren’t receiving opportunities for higher paying jobs. There was discrimination against women in Social Security, and sexual harassment affected many women in various occupations.

In 1963 and 1964, the U.S. government attempted to abolish discrimination between genders and races in the workplace. Title VII in the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Pay Act were passed to prohibit sexual discrimination in employment and ensure equal pay for equal work.[8] However, these laws failed to guarantee equality in employment in many areas throughout the nation. Without the ratification of the ERA, activists in Utah feared that implementation of these laws would continue to be haphazard and slow.[9] Those that opposed the ERA and the burgeoning feminist movement in Utah claimed that the laws from the 1960s were more than sufficient.

Many women, especially in Utah, believed that their primary responsibility was to stay at home and be a wife and mother. Unfortunately, state poverty levels were extremely high, and many of the families considered poor were headed by women.[10] According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there were 44,451 children in Utah living in poverty in 1970. Out of that shocking number, 40% of them lived in families headed by women. In 1972, 37% of the poor population in Utah were women and 39% were children. Most of these women headed families, but some had husbands who weren’t making enough to support the whole family-- and were therefore working full-time themselves.[11] Although these women worked full-time, their pay was nowhere near that of the full-time pay that men received. For activists of the Women's Movement in Utah, these statistics were proof that current laws were insufficient. Alison Comish Thorne claimed that the strongest argument for the ERA was that ¾ of the poor in Utah were women and children.[12] 

State labor laws that had been passed prior to the discussion surrounding the Equal Rights Amendment were inadequate for ensuring equality in the workplace. Some of the “protective” legislation prohibited women from working certain jobs due to stereotypes about female weakness; for example, a woman wasn’t allowed to work at the desk of hotels at night for "her own safety." Some legislation prohibited women from advancing to higher paying positions and a better life. The ERA helped garner attention to inequality in employemnt because the amendment called for the end of gender discrimination in all areas of life. Activists called for a minimum wage, rest periods, and the end of sexual harassment at work.[13] Those opposed to the ERA feared that these measures would strip women of their current rights for things such as maternity leave and separate restroom facilities. However, becuase the ERA focused on equality rather than assimilation between genders, separate restrooms and maternity leave would not be abolished under the new amendment.[14]

The protective legislation was slowly and insufficiently enforced, especially in more rural areas.[15] Without the passing of the ERA, the activists feared that women and men would never be treated as equals by employers.