Tory Burch attends the Marie Curie Legacy Gala at The Rainbow Room in Manhattan in November. Photo: Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Tory Burch, who was among the advocates who helped convince President Biden to give the Equal Rights Amendment a symbolic boost on his way out, tells Axios it was “a great day for women.”
Why it matters: Biden’s statement on Friday, saying the 28th prospective amendment should be considered ratified and “the law of the land,” doesn’t change anything constitutionally. But with 3½ days left in office, Biden renewed attention for a century-old fight that energized generations of women.
Burch, one of America’s most successful and influential fashion entrepreneurs, launched her label at her kitchen table in New York City in 2004. The company’s purpose: “empower women and women entrepreneurs.”
- “Because of what I have done career-wise, I have been witness to inequality for women,” she told Axios in a phone interview shortly after Biden’s announcement. “I’ve talked to thousands of women who also see it.”
- “I have always said that equality for women should be a given, not a favor. And the fact that this could happen today is a great testament to what people want. … They want equal rights not based on gender.”
Catch me up: In 2020, Virginia became the 38th and final state needed to ratify the 1970s-era amendment — but 38 years after a congressionally mandated deadline.
Zoom in: Burch says the issue has been “top of mind for years,” and she has lent her name to the cause. But in recent months, she joined a sophisticated behind-the-scenes push for Biden to put the White House imprimatur on the ERA.
- Without the amendment, “there’s an inference that you’re not equal,” she said. “Because we haven’t been equal.”
The bottom line: “When I talk to men,” Burch told us, “they don’t want their daughters to be treated differently than their sons. I don’t think this is about politics in any way — this is about humanity.”
- “Of course it’s what women and girls want. But it’s also what men want.”
Go deeper: Life lessons from Tory Burch.
