It's 2017 and the glass ceiling is alive and well. From CEOs to celebrities, women across the board get paid 78 cents to ever dollar a man makes, the Gender Pay Gap widens even further when discussing women of minority. If this fact doesn't piss you off than you're not paying attention. This means no matter how educated a woman is, no matter how respected she is in her field or how hard she works, her male counterpart will always make more, deserved or not. It's more than just infuriating, its nauseating.
That seemingly insignificant 21 cent or more difference is a slap in the face of over 100 years of woman's rights.
Our grandmothers and great grandmothers did not fight so that only a few generations later their rights would once again come under attack. How many generations more of women standing up for their rights will it take to close the gap? The better question may be, why are women the only ones fighting?
Why won't men speak up?
What angers me the most about this issue is the men out there who benefit and say nothing. I have known many perfectly intelligent, morally responsible men that choose to play dumb when the issue is discussed. They may be all for woman's rights in other arenas but when it comes to speaking up against pay inequality they prefer to keep their mouths shut and their paychecks fat.
I understand it takes a rare breed to stand up for what is right in the face of retribution. In our economy no one wants to rock the boat for fear of losing their own job and precious bit of salary they have been able to carve out for themselves. Yet, my sympathies end there. There is nothing worse than knowing something is wrong and keeping quiet about it.
What would this issue look like if men stood up and said enough?
I may get some flack for saying this but I think a male protest on this issue would go a lot further than it remaining a woman's only issue. This is not to say that I think women need a man to help them. However, it is human nature to further relate to issues when outside, so-called privileged entities begin to support them.
How many times have we seen humanitarian efforts take off because a celebrity endorsed them?
Nothing has changed regarding the intrinsic value of the cause, the only thing that's different is someone with more 'clout' lends their voice to the conversation. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to live in a world where Hillary Clinton's opinion holds as much water as Bill's but we aren't there yet.
Female issues needs to become human issues for them to be realized, respected and overhauled. Men need to start fighting for their mothers, their sisters, their wives and their daughters. Sure we can do it alone but isn't it time we were in this together?
