It has been over a hundred years since women gained their first monumental rights as equals to men. The gender equality movement has leapt forward rapidly since then. Yet, it is clear that there is still a long way to go before women can really be treated on the same professional level as men. The female and male divide still exists in pay and position discrepancies, despite the fact that many women are as capable as men to tackle the responsibilities that challenging occupations demand.
Women’s rights have undoubtedly come a long way since the fairer sex first earned its right to vote in the 1920s. The suffrage movement was the beginning of a long overdue domino effect that toppled gender barriers in the home and in the work place. Women proved that given the chance, they were as capable as any man to handle the most taxing duties. Taking advantage of the new women’s liberation, university classrooms, the armed forces, and businesses everywhere found themselves inundated with eager and qualified females looking to make their mark on a predominantly male-run world. The charge of women into these places has proved largely successful. In 2006, women made up 58 percent of the nation’s college student population, according to the New York Times. In addition, women are also more likely to graduate with a degree than men, indicating that while men are largely at the same position as they were about 30 years ago, women are making rapid progress.
Yet, despite the fact that women are now taking the business world by storm, armed with college-earned intellect and skills, they are still struggling to find work place equality. Men still hold the majority of the top positions within huge and powerful companies, and having a female in a top position is still a rare sight. In addition, women who do hold the same positions as men typically earn less than their male counterparts while performing the exact same duties. For example, female pharmacists earn an average weekly salary of $1,647 while male pharmacists earn an average weekly salary of $1,914, according to CNN. This means that women in the pharmacy field typically earn only 86.1 percent of what their male counterparts earn. This is an unfortunate reality which indicates that despite the progress women have made within the past decade, there are still gender inequalities in the work place that need to be addressed. Luckily, many women are taking a step in the right direction by earning their college degrees. With more push to level the playing field, women should be seeing more gender equality in the years to come.