It’s easy to look at the surface and think the job is done. People see women in the C-suite, women in the Senate, and women flying fighter jets and assume the legal framework is a finished masterpiece. But honestly? If you start digging into the actual text of the U.S. Constitution or the fine print of federal labor laws, you realize there are some massive, gaping holes. When people ask what rights do women not have in the United States, they usually expect a list of things women are "banned" from doing.
It doesn't really work like that.
Instead of explicit bans, what we have is a lack of affirmative, constitutional protection. We have "rights" that exist because of a specific court case or a temporary law, but those can—and do—vanish overnight.
The ERA Sits in Legal Limbo
You’ve probably heard of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). It sounds like a relic from the 70s, something your mom might have marched for while wearing a "Sisterhood is Powerful" t-shirt. Here is the kicker: the United States Constitution still does not explicitly guarantee equal rights regardless of sex.
That's a wild fact to wrap your head around.
The 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause is what lawyers currently use to fight sex discrimination. But here is the problem. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia famously argued that the 14th Amendment wasn’t originally intended to protect against sex discrimination. Without the ERA, women’s rights are essentially built on judicial interpretation. Interpretation changes. If a new set of judges decides they don't see it that way anymore, the floor falls out.
We are one of the few developed nations that doesn't have a specific "equality of the sexes" clause in our founding document. Because the ERA fell short of the ratification requirements decades ago—and remains mired in a messy legal battle over deadlines and state rescissions—women lack a permanent, unshakeable constitutional bedrock.
Reproductive Autonomy is No Longer a Federal Right
We have to talk about the elephant in the room: Dobbs v. Jackson.
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For nearly fifty years, Roe v. Wade stood as the pillar for reproductive rights. Then, in June 2022, it was gone. When we look at what rights do women not have in the United States today, the right to bodily autonomy regarding pregnancy is now a "zip code right." It isn't a national right.
This isn't just about elective procedures. In states like Texas or Idaho, doctors are terrified to treat miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies because the legal language is so vague. Women have lost the right to standard medical care in large swaths of the country. According to a 2023 report from the Center for Reproductive Rights, over 20 million women of reproductive age now live in states where abortion is almost entirely banned.
This creates a tiered system of citizenship. If you have the money to travel from Mississippi to Illinois, you have rights. If you’re working two jobs and can’t afford the gas or the childcare to leave the state? You don't. That’s a fundamental loss of a right that existed for two generations.
The Massive Gap in Paid Leave
Let’s get into the "lifestyle" side of rights, which is actually a labor rights issue. The U.S. is the only wealthy nation on the planet that does not mandate paid maternity leave.
None. Zero.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) gives some workers 12 weeks of leave, but it’s unpaid. And get this: about 40% of workers don't even qualify for FMLA because their company is too small or they haven't worked there long enough.
In Sweden, parents get 480 days. In the U.K., it’s 39 weeks of partial pay. In the U.S., a woman can give birth on a Tuesday and be legally required to be back at her desk the following Monday if she wants to keep her paycheck and her health insurance. When we talk about what rights do women not have in the United States, we have to talk about the right to recover from a major medical event—childbirth—without facing financial ruin.
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It’s a systemic failure. It forces women out of the workforce, contributing to the "motherhood penalty" where women's earnings drop significantly after having a child, while men’s earnings often stay the same or even increase.
Protection from Violence and the "Boyfriend Loophole"
You’d think the right to be safe from a known abuser would be a given. Well, it’s complicated.
For years, federal law prohibited "spouses" convicted of domestic violence from owning a gun. But if you were just dating? Or if it was a one-night stand that turned obsessive? That was the "boyfriend loophole." While the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 made some progress in closing this, it’s still not a blanket protection.
In many states, women don't have a guaranteed right to "coercive control" protections. This is non-physical abuse—isolating a partner, controlling their bank account, tracking their phone. In the U.K. and parts of Australia, this is a crime. In most of the U.S.? It’s just considered a "bad relationship."
The legal system is still very much focused on "did he hit you?" If the answer is "no, but he won't let me leave the house or have a credit card," the law often has no answer. This lack of protection leaves women trapped in cycles of abuse that the state refuses to recognize until blood is spilled.
The Pink Tax and Economic Fairness
The "Pink Tax" isn't a literal government tax, but it acts like one. It's the documented trend where products marketed to women—razors, dry cleaning, deodorant—cost more than the male equivalents.
While some states like California and New York have banned price discrimination for services, there is no federal law preventing a company from charging more for a pink razor than a blue one.
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Then there’s the Equal Pay Act of 1963. It sounds great on paper. But it’s incredibly hard to enforce. To win a lawsuit, a woman has to prove she is doing "substantially equal" work under the same conditions. Employers have a dozen ways to wiggle out of that, citing "merit" or "seniority" or "prior salary history."
The right to pay transparency—the ability to even know what your coworkers are making without getting fired—is only a right in a handful of states like Colorado and Washington. In most of the country, if you ask your colleague what they make, your boss can walk you out the door.
Maternal Mortality: The Right to Life
It sounds dramatic, but the statistics are grim. The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations. For Black women, the risk is nearly three times higher than for white women, regardless of income or education.
Does a woman have a "right" to safe healthcare?
Legally, no. There is no constitutional right to healthcare in America. While the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) requires hospitals to stabilize someone in active labor, it doesn’t guarantee quality prenatal care or postpartum support. When we look at what rights do women not have in the United States, the right to survive childbirth is currently under-supported by the legal and medical infrastructure.
What This Actually Means for You
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by this. But knowing where the gaps are is the first step toward fixing them. The U.S. legal system operates on a "negative rights" framework—it mostly tells the government what it can’t do, rather than what it must provide for its citizens.
If you want to see these gaps closed, the path forward isn't just through individual effort. It’s through systemic pressure.
Actionable Steps for Change:
- Check your state's ERA status: Many people don't realize their own state constitution might already have an Equal Rights Amendment. If yours doesn't, that's a local legislative battle you can join.
- Support Pay Transparency: If you’re in a position of power at work, push for salary bands to be made public. If you’re an employee, look up your state’s laws on discussing wages—in many places, it is a protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act, even if your handbook says otherwise.
- Vote in State Judicial Elections: After the Dobbs decision, state supreme courts have become the most important battlegrounds for reproductive rights. These judges are often elected, and their names are usually at the very bottom of the ballot. Don't skip them.
- Advocate for Paid Leave at the Company Level: You don't have to wait for Congress. Many companies are implementing "gender-neutral" parental leave policies because it helps them retain talent. If your HR department hasn't updated their policy in a decade, bring them the data on how paid leave reduces turnover.
The reality of what rights do women not have in the United States is that our progress is currently written in pencil. To make it permanent, it has to be moved into the ink of the Constitution and the firm mandate of federal law. Until then, equality is a goal, not a guaranteed reality.