Iowa Women's Equality Campaign records

Collection

Identifier: IWA0629

Staff Only
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Scope and Contents

The Iowa Women's Equality Campaign records date from 1991 to 1992 and measure 2.5 linear inches. The records are arranged in two series: Administrative, and Media and Publicity.

The Administrative series includes lists of staff members and their duties, and calendars detailing the group's plans for the summer and fall of 1992. Notes regarding Eleanor Smeal's visit to the state are in the folder on Projects and Events, and the Resolutions folder contains several letters of support from church and religious groups. An interesting letter by Pro-Choice Iowa Republicans urging other Republicans to support pro-ERA and pro-choice Democrats in the 1992 election is in the Candidates' literature folder.

The Media and Publicity series includes newspaper clippings, press packets, brochures, and a scholarly analysis of the political strategy used in the failed national ERA campaign. The Brochures folder includes anti-ERA literature.

Dates

Creation: 1975-1992

Creator

Iowa Women's Equality Campaign (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

The records are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright held by the donor has been retained by the donor.

However, copyright status for some collection materials may be unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility and potential liability based on copyright infringement for any use rests exclusively and solely with the user. Users must properly acknowledge the Iowa Women’s Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, as the source of the material. For further information, visit https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/services/rights/

Biographical / Historical

The Iowa Women's Equality Campaign (IWEC), sponsored by the Feminist Majority Foundation and the Iowa chapter of NOW, formed in 1992 to work for passage of the state ERA in Iowa. Iowa's state ERA had already been defeated once (in 1980), and the national ERA had failed to pass by the 1982 deadline. With the ERA in decline, the Feminist Majority believed that a win in Iowa would help restore the ERA to the national agenda. The Feminist Majority, therefore, provided funding and became an active partner with the ERA Iowa 1992 Coalition, which was spearheading the campaign to pass the ERA. Disagreements arose, however, which led the Feminist Majority and Iowa NOW to split off and form a separate group--the IWEC. The IWEC and the ERA Iowa 1992 Coalition maintained a good working relationship and cooperated on many aspects of the campaign. The effort ultimately failed, however, 52 percent to 48 percent. The IWEC disbanded immediately after the election in November, 1992.