The University of Iowa Libraries

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.

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.

Access: The records are open for research.

Use: Copyright has not been transferred to The University of Iowa.

Acquisition: The records (donor no. 796) were donated by Betty Christensen in 2001.

Preferred Citation: Iowa Women's Equality Campaign records, Iowa Women's Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City.

Repository:	Iowa Women's Archives
Address:	100 Main Library University of Iowa Libraries Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone:	319-335-5068
Curator:	Kären Mason
Email:	lib-women@uiowa.edu
Website:	http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.

Corporate Names:
Iowa Women's Equality Campaign

Dates:
1970-1979
1980-1989
1990-1999

Topics:
Political campaigns
Equal rights amendments
Women's rights
Women in politics

Geographic Names:
Iowa

Genre/Form of Materials:
Administrative records
Archives

Browse:
Women, Politics and the Law