WHAT ALREADY EXISTS: Did you know that 37% of women hold at least a bachelor’s degree compared to the 35% of men? Infact based on labour statistics, women surpass men on education attainment. However did you also know in 2020, women earned only 84% of what men earned? All throughout history, and even especially today, women have always been put on a lower pedestal than men. As an example of ‘History repeats itself’, this issue started in the 19th century, was the cause of the 19th amendment, but still continues to be a fundamental problem. From the times of World War II, when women had to step up replacing the male workers who joined the military, to current times the wage has never been equal. As of 2020 women ages 25 to 34 earned 93 cents for every dollar a man in the same age group earned on average. And even if we assumed the ‘separate pay scale’ technique is limited to certain occupations, we would be wronged, as the majority of women face this problem in different careers. The wage gap between men and women should be equalized as soon as possible as everyone deserves to be given the same value, bring down poverty rates & unemployment, and over strengthen the economy.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED: Before change can happen, there needs to be an increase in awareness. It’s tough to notice how the gender pay gap impacts other employees if you are not the one being affected. For the most part, the working world was originally created by men, for men. 

Here are two ways to create change on your own. 1) Support Pay Transparency: When women are not able to discuss their salaries with their colleagues, they often aren't aware of what their male counterparts are earning. The Paycheck Fairness Act would reduce pay secrecy, give women better tools to address pay discrimination, and make it more difficult for companies to pay male workers more than female workers. 2) Overcome Bias: The recruitment processes in many men-dominated sectors are either gender-biased or rely heavily on networks, placing women at a disadvantage. A study of British recruitment advertisements found that the use of gender-biased wording in ads makes women less likely to apply. Companies must be cognizant of bias in hiring processes and seek to mitigate bias wherever possible while integrating gender and diversity practices.

SIGNING: If you also find yourself with the same/similar opinion about unequal pay for women, please sign this petition.