"We say America is the land of equality, that everyone has a fair shot.
We idealize what we have grown up believing is true: No one in America
should be treated any differently than another.
Yet women still get paid 77 cents on the dollar compared to their male
counterparts. Women are often punished financially for maternity leave,
as they must take more time off from work when they have children, and
they are therefore less likely to fill management positions. The jobs
women tend to fill, such as teaching and nursing, have significantly
lower salaries than those that are predominantly male. Even on a
subjective basis, some employers are likely to pay a man more because
he will produce "higher-quality" work.
But America is still the land of opportunity, and we like to think our
government attempts to rectify such disparities. Our government
disappoints me.
In fact, it began with a disappointment at the Supreme Court last year
- Ledbetter v. Goodyear. The case was simple: Lilly Ledbetter realized
years into her employment at Goodyear Tire she was being paid less than
her male equivalents, and she filed suit claiming sex discrimination.
The court ruled she no longer had the right to sue since she did not
file within six months of the first discriminatory paycheck.
Working Girls
For all young women entering the workforce, feminist politics are alive and well. More than a decade after the first Clinton campaign made maternity leave a national issue, Mrs. Clinton's current quest is helping raise awareness of pay discrimination.