Nearly half a century ago, President John F. Kennedy promised to end wage discrimination against women with the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibited wage discrimination based on sex.

Yet women in America continue to face wage discrimination, an issue that shows how little we have achieved for gender equality since 1963.
According to USA Today, women make only 70 cents for every dollar earned by a man.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported in the first three months of 2012 the “usual median weekly earnings” of full time workers of both genders were not equal. Instead, women earned only 82.2 percent of what men earned, proving the glass ceiling is not close to being shattered.

America has transitioned from a time when expectations for women were purely domestic. Now, women are making gains in the professional world parallel to those of their counterparts.

However, with inequality in the work place based on gender, there is yet another obstacle to be hurdled before achieving fair treatment.

Women deserve to reap the benefits of their hard work just as men do, yet, America’s judicial system has shown us this is easier said than done, as there is very little legislation supporting women’s rights.

Kennedy’s efforts amended the Fair Labor Standards Act, making it possible for women to take employers to court over pay discrimination.

Lilly Ledbetter is one woman who will not rest until employment discrimination based on gender is completely illegal. Ledbetter was a supervisor at Goodyear Tire and Rubber, a position largely occupied by men. As the only woman in this managerial position, Ledbetter soon found out she was being severely underpaid in comparison to her male counterparts.

In her career, Ledbetter missed out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages because she was discriminated against for her sex. Upon retiring, Ledbetter took Goodyear to court to fight against the employment discrimination.

Unfortunately, Ledbetter faced an obstacle with a minimal legislation hang up keeping her from gaining justice. The law at the time placed a time limit on the evidence used in an employment discrimination act.

This led to the Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act President Obama signed immediately after taking office in 2009. This act allows employee’s most recent undersized paycheck to be punishable evidence of gender discrimination by an employer. The prior hindering 180-day limit was overwritten so women like Ledbetter could have a fair case.

Now Obama is faced with the task of getting Senate approval for the Pay Check Fairness Act, which allows employees to inquire about pay gaps without repercussions from employers. According to The New York Times, the Pay Check Fairness Act also requires employers to give a “business” reason for paying men and women different wages for equal work.

These two acts show important strides towards equality for women in the work place. Equal pay isn’t a women’s issue but a societal issue and we’re not the only society who struggles with this. According to BBC News, the Equality Act of 2010 that passed in England still hasn’t led to a government decision on whether to make private companies reveal their pay gap.

President Obama promotes equal pay for equal work. However, after the senate voted on June 5th the legislation that Obama was backing got shut down. According to The Huffington Post, it fell eight Republican votes short of approval. ABC News reported Republicans were against the bill because they believe the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963 already have broad coverage over paycheck fairness.

If the senate doesn’t pass the Pay Check Fairness Act, it will lead to increased litigation and wasted money over future gender pay discrimination disputes.
Every hard working woman across America will have to take into account that being born a female has set them back in achieving equality as a human being.

For American companies to keep up with modern times they need to capitalize on our country’s strengths. Currently, more women are graduating from college than men and they’re proving to be a dominant force in the professional world.

There have been important gains for professional women as recent as 2012. Facebook appointed Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg to be a director. As a ground breaking company they realize how important it is to have a diverse board including females to have an innovative perspective.

Furthermore, as a society we need to move forward to reach the equality promised with citizenship.

The pursuit of happiness should be attainable for all hard working human beings despite the minor details of their identity.

If the senate passes the Pay Check Fairness Act, there will be a future for women in the professional world. As it is now, it’s quite dismal for women to spend time diligently working towards their career goals knowing that they will be paid significantly less than a man for the same exact position.

It is abhorrent for women to hear they are not valued or considered as an equal contributor in professionalism at this point in our modern era. It’s an inalienable fundamental right for a human being to be considered an equal, and we should strive to be better than this.