The struggle over the Equal Rights Amendment started more than a century ago when leading suffragist Alice Paul first proposed it shortly after the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote.

President Biden’s remarks were largely a symbolic gesture of support for a century-long campaign to enshrine gender equality into the Constitution. But advocates said they could add heft to a future legal fight.

In his final week as president, Biden is using his bully pulpit to try to push forward the amendment that would enshrine sex equality in the U.S. Constitution.