The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was a landmark piece of US legislation that aimed to address gender-based wage disparities by prohibiting pay discrimination based on sex. It was the first federal law to address gendered wage discrimination, stating that employees must receive equal pay for equal work, regardless of their sex. As such, the legislation represented a significant milestone in the fight for gender equality in the workplace.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark achievement of the civil rights movement that aimed to end racial discrimination against African Americans and other marginalized groups. The Act gave Black men the right to vote in the US and prohibited employment discrimination. It also banned segregation in public places and schools. Throughout her speech, Chisolm references the Civil Rights Act as an important legal precedent. She points out that while Congress supported the prohibition of racial discrimination, it has not applied the same logic to gender discrimination, although women constitute “a majority” of the population.

In her speech, Chisholm points out that if the Equal Rights Amendment becomes law, men and women could both benefit from alimony laws. In the case of a divorce, alimony is a payment (or set of payments) made from one spouse to another to maintain a standard of similar to when they were married.