This means that the provision may be read to challenge a private discriminatory action, i.e. by business and corporations, without a requirement that state action was involved. The protected categories listed are included to reflect the Resolution from the 1994 NOW Conference calling for this action on the ERA and the Majority Report for the January 1995 NOW ERA Summit, both of which expressed the desire for an expansive equality standard and explicit inclusion of a variety of protected categories of persons. The categories listed were adopted at the 1995 National Convention. The rationale for not listing other specific categories is discussed below. It is our desire that all categories listed be subject to the highest standard of judicial review as discussed under Section 6 .
Further discussion is necessary for several categories.
Many categories already exist in ERAs in State Constitutions. Stereotypes are explicitly addressed in Section 4 . We are aware debate exists as the whether race does indeed exist, and therefore include further classes such as ethnicity, national origin and color. Historically, women were seen as their husband's property incapable of owning their own property or conducting their own business. Currently, single women are discriminated against in many areas such as reproduction and employment benefits.