In a society that strongly holds tothe idea that men are dominant in households and careers, women have faced manychallenges and hardships to gain equal rights in society. An alarming issuethat continues to present itself generation after generation is the unfair payand difference in treatment that women endure in the workforce and discriminationfrom society. Gender inequality has affected women negatively in numerous waysand continues to be a dire issue that needs to be addressed.

A major reasonthis issue is important is because it keeps women from advancing and attaininghigher positions. Women also face devaluation in the workforce when amongst maleemployers. The third reason that this issue should be more of a concern tosociety is because women are being given less access to resources and politicalrepresentation than men. Before World War I and II, women wereexpected to stay home, cook, clean, and take care of the household while the menwere the breadwinners.

It was during World War I, while the men were away atwar, women were needed to fill the gap and began to enter the workforce. By theend of World War II in 1939, approximately 7 million women were working and madeup a significant size of the workforce. Although women proved to be an asset toindustries while the men were away, women were still not given any workplacerights and although they were given the same work as men women were still paid disgracefullylow and taken for granted.

It wasn’t until the induction of a passage thatspecified gender in the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 stating that “itis illegal to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, orotherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to hiscompensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of suchindividual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” (CITATION). First, gender inequality keeps womenfrom advancing and attaining higher positions in both society and the workforce.Employers have been known to discriminate an employer based on gender, holdingthe universal ideal that men are the dominant ones in the workforce.

Women arebecoming independent more than ever but continue to compete for equal pay andexperience more unfair treatment than men. With a wage gap of over $10,000, womenare getting paid less than men regardless of their work experience or educationlevel and have tougher times getting promoted. Secondly, the necessity of womenin the workforce are often taken for granted by males, and women are often seenas lesser than their fellow male employers. Women have acquired many skills andknowledge over the years making them exceptional leaders and more hardworkingthan men. As gender equality continues to be pushed, women greatly benefit the workforceindustry and help bridge the working gap. Lastly, To conclude with, even with highereducation women are still being paid less than males. A survey conducted by theNational Women’s Law Center found that “women in the U.S.

are paid only 80 centsfor every dollar paid to men with over $10,000 in lost earnings yearly”(CITATION).