Meryl Streep has written to Congress urging them to support the Equal Rights Amendment.

The 'Into the Woods' actress has sent a letter to every member of Congress along with a copy of the book 'Equal Means Equal' by Jessica Neuwirth asking for their support of the proposed amendment which would ensure equal rights for women.

She wrote: ''I am writing to ask you to stand up for equality - for your mother, your daughter, your sister, your wife or yourself - by actively supporting the Equal Rights Amendment.

''A whole new generation of women and girls are talking about equality - equal pay, equal protection from sexual assault, equal rights.''

The 66-year-old star - who will be seen on screens in October playing British feminist Emmeline Pankhurst in the movie 'Suffragette' - has been very vocal about her battle for equal rights in Hollywood in the past, enthusiastically supporting actress Patricia Arquette during a speech about wage equality at the Academy Awards back in February.

Meryl also reiterated her position in a recent interview with First Lady Michelle Obama - the wife of American President Barack Obama - in which she said women still face ''resistance'' in all aspects of life, despite the fact people seem to believe men and women are equals.

Speaking in More magazine, she said: ''We're viewed as equals - but we're still not there yet.

''For the first time, we have the expectation that we can have a broad array of choices, that we could lead in almost any part of society. And yet we face resistance. We see that here at home in our government - in the House and the Senate. We see that in our boardrooms. We see that in Hollywood.''

''The challenge for our girls, I think, is dealing with that resistance. How can we lift and defuse it, how do we make it so our equality is not so threatening?''