|Courtesy of Univ of Iowa|
What sources might scholars consult if they wished to provide the more comprehensive and critical perspective on sex discrimination law and the ERA that Kerber suggests? In the legal literature, Reva Siegel’s articles on the “de facto ERA” and her synthetic account of Nineteenth and Fourteenth Amendment history, “She the People,” are critical contributions (find links to these publications here). Scholarship on the effectiveness of the ERA also is an important resource. Some scholars argue that state ERAs have yielded disappointing results for litigators; other vehemently disagree. Compare Paul B. Linton, "State Equal Rights Amendments: Making a Difference or Making a Statement," 70 Temp. L. Rev. 907 (1997) to Linda J. Wharton, "State Equal Rights Amendments Revisited: Evaluating Their Effectiveness in Advancing Protection Against Sex Discrimination," 36 Rutgers L.J. 1201 (2005). In the historical literature, see Sex, Gender, and the Politics of ERA: A State and the Nation, an important case study by Donald Mathews & Jane S. de Hart. See also the short and useful, Why ERA Failed: Politics, Women's Rights, and the Amending Process of the Constitution by Mary Frances Berry.