Women have experienced forms of work discrimination since the 1900’s. My partner and I believe this has been a reoccurring issue within the workplace that hasn’t been settled by the government. We would like to present this petition of “Equal pay equal work” to the President of the United States and to the Governor of South Carolina as well. We are aware that there is an act already in place for this matter named the Equal Pay Act of 1963. This act prohibits sex-based discrimination between men and women in the same establishment who performs jobs that require equal skill. According to the U.S. Bureau in 2013 women who worked full time earned on average only 78 cents for every dollar men made (ACLU, 2018). When it comes to women of color, African American women receive 64 cents while Latinas only bring in 56 cents to every dollar for men. The only main job occupation where there are women getting paid more than men are stock clerks and order fillers which only make two percent more (AmericanBar, 2018). According to IWPR.com, women equal up to half of the workforce and they also receive more college and graduate degrees than men (IWPR, 2018). They also go on to say that the gender gap was at 20 percent. “One of the most commonly reported forms of discrimination focused on earnings inequality” (PewResearch, 2018). The IWPR which is the Institute for Women’s Policy Research tracks the gender wage gap and is updated twice a year. The IWPR states that it’ll be 41 years before women have equal pay. For women of color it would be even longer. African American women would have to wait until the year of 2119 and Latinas would have to wait until 2224 (IWPR, 2018). When would have to work an additional 47 days to make what men did in 2017 (PewResearch, 2018). According to PewResearch.org, the wage gap has been explained in measurable factors such as educational attainment, occupational segregation, and work experience. Another factor is women having to take a break from her career due to family priorities. Some factors such as occupation, number of hours, experience level, and personal choices aren’t taken into consideration; when so the wage gap shrinks (Women.ca, 2010). These are just some of the many factors of why we are petitioning this issue. As previously stated, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 is established but certain factors can make the act weak which makes it hard to find wage discrimination. The Paycheck Fairness Act is supposed to help strengthen the Equal Pay Act. It is said that the act hasn’t passed due to “limited enforcement tools and inadequate remedies” (ACLU, 2018). Updating the Equal Pay Act the Paycheck Fairness Act now states that employers must demonstrate wage differentials are based on factors besides sex, strengthens penalties for equal pay violations, the Dept. of Labor must assist employers and collect wage-related data, and there must be additional training for EEOC (ACLU). My partner and I believe this act should be sent back through congress for reconsideration. We believe that we should increase salaries within lower income jobs. Doing this would make it easier for women to enter higher paying jobs and ensure that women don’t get hit who are parents (NWLC, 2018). Raising salaries would also cut down poverty level within certain areas and could add millions of dollars to the economy.