I grew up in Northern California in a divided and polarised household. Politics were the regular side dish and both Republicans and Democrats were at the table. I know I don’t see this issue as my mother did or as my great aunts did. Regardless of their politics, they understood how important it was to pass the ERA. But growing up, I took it for granted. Growing up around strong, assertiveI, working women, I thought the ERA was a done deal. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Now, breaching sixty years old, I finally understand what my great aunt meant when she often repeated, like a mantra, that. “Women must have their own money”. Women of that generation were denied a bank account, a credit card, their own livelihood because they were not protected under the law. It’s high time women were. Please vote to finally ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. —Jennifer Rakow-Stepper, votes in California, lives in Vienna