WATCH: Gloria Steinem and Activists Lead the Charge to Get Equal Rights Amendment Into the Constitution

Initially posed to Congress in 1923 after women won the right to vote, the Equal Rights Amendment was passed in 1972, but fell three states short of the 38 states needed for ratification by the time the deadline expired. Now the ERA Coalition and Fund for Women's Equality is reviving the public discussion of the ERA, hoping to get it into the Constitution once and for all.

"The key to the Equal Rights Amendment is that it protects men as well as women," says activist and ERA Coalition board member Gloria Steinem. 

Women in California who work full time are paid substantially less than men — a median 84 cents for every dollar — and Academy Award-winning actresses Patricia Arquette, Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence have all advocated for equal rights in the past few months.

Watch this conversation about the ERA moderated by Agunda Okeyo with Steinem, Carol Robles-Roman, Ai-jen Poo, Jennifer Pozner, Jamia Wilson and Elizabeth Deutsch: