Tory Burch on ERA declaration: "A great day for 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.

• The U.S. archivist declared in December that the amendment can't be certified without further action by Congress or the courts.
• Among the groups pushing Biden to act unilaterally were Win the ERA and Equality Now.

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.