The topic of equal pay is a main point of debate in this country. Currently, women only get 78% of the pay that men do for equivalent work. I submit that it is a symptom of a much bigger problem -- that of everyday sexism. The hashtag #EverydaySexism has been trending on and off Twitter all day today as tens of thousands of people have plenty of examples.
Back in ancient times and during the Middle Ages, women were frequently considered to be property, first of their fathers and then of their husbands. They were expected to stay in their place and not ruffle too many feathers. Even in modern times, women are considered to be second class citizens. One rule of schoolteachers for 1872 that I recently saw stated that women who were teachers were not to be married and or engage in "unseemly behavior." Violation was grounds for immediate dismissal. Women were expected to spend all of their spare time either preparing for the next school day or reading scriptures or "other good books."
In the 1930's, after the Great Depression struck, the women were the ones who were expected to make all the sacrifices so that the men could go on to college. My grandmother, in line with the societal expectations at the time, gave all of her life savings back to her parents so they could get through the Great Depression even though she was valedictorian in her high school and could have gone far in college. Her younger brother, on the other hand, was allowed to go to college and become a professor.
We have made progress since then, but we still have not gone far enough. There are still plenty of sexist attitudes in our society. For instance, it is popularly believed that arranged marriages were a thing of the past. The reality is that arranged marriages are still part of our society; thousands of women in this country are still married off in this manner.
Here are some of the widespread examples of everyday sexism that I gleaned from Twitter today:
--Corporate managers ignoring an idea if suggested by a woman, but then praising a man as being a brilliant person if they suggest the same idea;
--The GOP House holding a hearing on birth control -- and all the people who testify are men;
--Mentioning that you played football as a young girl and being asked if your dad realized that you were a girl;
--Multiple police departments talking you out of reporting a rape;
--Being told that women don't belong in technology (There was a massive lawsuit in Silicon Valley over sexism recently).
--Country radio stations' songlists are 90% male singers;
--In Indiana and other places, women are threatened with arrest and imprisonment for miscarriages;
--Men are praised for "getting the girl," but women are shamed for the exact same behavior;
--If men express their opinion, it is freedom of speech; if women express it, they are being too uppity;
--Being whistled at, ogled, followed by strange men you don't know while on the streets;
--Men's/Boys sports teams getting front page recognition; women's teams, not so much;
--Being a woman IT manager at work, being asked again for the IT manager after you say you're the IT manager;
--Addressing women as "girl," etc.
When we treat women as equals, everybody benefits. Many people operate under the faulty premise that if women's programs are promoted, it is the men's programs who get the shaft. However, I talked to one person who worked at a university and who handled Title IX. She said to me that it was a matter of political will -- after Title IX came into force, the men's sports which had support survived. So, if a men's swimming program survived the rise of Title IX, it meant that there was enough institutional and community support to make it work. Equal Rights should be promoted as a win-win solution in which everybody benefits.