The Fight for Equal Pay Continues

Listen up, ladies! If you are a senior about to work a new job after college, or you’re still in college and getting ready for your first internship, watch out for the gender wage gap.

In honor of Equal Pay Day on April 10, multiple women across the United States worked to draw attention to the gender wage gap between men and women.

The gender wage gap is the difference in the amount of money a woman will make, versus what a man will make. According to Business Insider, on average, “a woman earns 80.5 cents for every dollar a man earns.”

That statistic includes white, black, and Latina women, but if we look at the gender wage gap for only black and Latina women, the gender wage gap is even larger.

According to Lily.com, “for every dollar a man makes, a black woman makes 63 cents.”

According to the National Partnership, Latinas “are typically paid just 54 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men.”

In 1919, women fought for the right to vote. It’s almost 100 years later, and now women have to fight to be paid fairly. Gaining the right to vote was a monumental movement and fight, and now, women need to band together to fight for equal pay.

“When faced head-on with gender bias, wage discrimination, and blatant disrespect in the workplace,” Refinery29 said, women “are speaking out as a unified force to say enough is enough.”

I am sick and tired of fighting for rights that men already have, but this exhaustion motivates me to want to be treated equally. I can’t be tired of fighting for feminism, because if that happens, then I will lack equal opportunities.

It is a woman’s job, unfortunately, to fight for her right to make just as much as a male who is doing the same job. I don’t understand why my gender determines how little money I make when the quality of my work may be better, my motivation may be stronger, and my ability to work with others may be more efficient.

So listen up, ladies! It’s time for another fight.