The Unspoken Gap Between Men and Women
An Infographic of the division between men and women and the gender pay gap.
In only a month, we will be writing 2020 and reflecting on 100 years of women receiving the right to vote through the 16th Amendment. Clearly as a society we’ve come a long way. We have changed our social norms, civilization, discrimination, values and so much more. America and the rest of the world is constantly changing and progressing towards an equal, inclusive society. Though we’ve sure come a long way, there’s so much more that our commonality can transform.
One of the big topics that always seems to be up for discussion is the equality between men and women. Growing up in this modern day, it has always been that boys and girls are equal or have the same worth. Though there’s some things that seem to separate us, whether it’s your elementary teacher asking the boys to do the heavy lifting or the unspoken pay gap, men and women have always been compeer for the most part. This may be the social norm for the generations growing up at this time, but just a few decades ago, your grandparent’s childhood, was completely different from what ours is today. It’s going to take from 40 to 118 years for the pay gap to close for women if we just go along with the status quo, so we need some serious, radical change. — Patricia Arquette
In the 1960’s, when your grandparents were in High School, women were viewed as happy wives and mothers as the traditionalist values were at its core. Women often received jobs as secretaries, nurses and teachers. If women were anything outside of the social norms, they were looked at as outcasts and aggressive rather than assertive and independent. In the later 1960’s, breaking the perfect American family standard became controversial and a rising conversation.
As the gap between men and women seems small during this time, it hasn’t even been a hundred years since women have gained rights in the 1920’s. Women were always looked at as less than men. Some people still today still go with this traditional mindset. Ella Buschbom, a freshman said, “Growing up in this modern time, I would expect to be respected and have everything that men get so easily.” Women had to stand up for themselves to get the rights to vote, work certain jobs, and have the same rights as men. As women fought to have rights, many were imprisoned for breaking the rules of society. Looking back at the timeline of women’s rights, it’s hard to imagine that it wasn’t so long ago when our society was divided about giving women the basic human rights.
Though there are tremendously less barriers for women, there are still things that create a gap between men and women. The pay gap has been a silent undergoing problem that many people seem to overlook the importance of fixing it. Women make 79 cents of a man’s dollar because of the gender pay gap in 2019. Buschbom said,“It’s hard to believe that women still don’t get equal pay for doing the same thing as men, and even doing it better. Especially after all of the movement, protests and fights our older family members had, for us to have what we have today.”
I love writing about controversial topics and taking pictures. I want to become an author and journalist someday and write poetry and science fiction books. ...
