5 Reasons We Still Need Feminism

The average woman in the United States makes approximately $82.90 for every dollar their male counterparts make. (Elsesser). While those 20 cents may seem inconsequential to you, they add up. Losing that much money all year can be the difference between someone living in poverty, and someone living a nice life. The gender pay gap is the cause of this problem. Around the world, women are losing money just because of what gender they are. The gender wage gap is a huge problem, that can only be solved by going to extreme measures, such as requiring people to release their employees wage gap and passing new laws.

According to The National Organization for Women, women only make 77 cents per dollar a man makes, this can cause women to stay in unhealthy and abusive relationships because they are financially depended on their spouse or boyfriend. There is a 9.4% pay gap between men and women, this causes many women to feel angry and that there is a social injustice that they want to change. Women do the same work as men and only earn 77 per dollar simply because she is a woman. This results in women making thousands of dollars less than a

One of the feminist movement’s most common argument is the gender pay gap. Many, including former President Obama, claim that women earn only “77 cents for every dollar a man earns” (dailybeast). This is a true statistic when used in proper context. However, stated like that, it is very misleading. That number is found by comparing the average salary of a man to the average salary of a woman. This is an unfair comparison because there are so many more variables that should be accounted for. This comparison does not consider the occupation, education, or experience of the man or woman. When these specific factors are taken into consideration, the gender pay gap dwindles down to less

“In 2014, female full-time workers made only 79 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 21 percent. Women, on average, earn less than men in virtually every single occupation for which there is sufficient earnings data for both men and women to calculate an earnings ratio” (IWPR). Since the beginning, women have experienced discrimination whether in the workplace of in general, and unfortunately, it continues on today. Women have always had to fight for equal rights, to vote, to work, to be accepted in the workplace, etc., simple rights that should have been given from the start. Being a woman in our society has definitely contributed to the already immense struggle and unfortunately it’s even worse if one is a woman of

Women still do not make the same amount of money as men do. This issue became a part of feminist history because it was and still is a major issue. I believe that companies and employers need to start paying women the same as men, women are becoming the breadwinners of families more often now, and they need to be able to support their families the same way that families with fathers acting as the breadwinners. It was not fair for women to earn less in the past and it is not fair

Who needs feminism? Most people believe that only straight men and women needs feminism. Lesbians, bisexuals, gays, and transsexuals, or the “LGBT” community needs feminism. It is not fair to exclude them, especially when they experience the same. They are also targeted when it comes to relationships such as, marriage equality and gender roles. Today, men argue that feminism is sexism. Sexism is the discrimination towards the other sex. Also it means unfair treatment or judgments because of their sex. Most men believe that women want more power and that it is injustice. John Haltiwanger states that, “Feminism is a term that makes most men very uncomfortable. They see it as an attack on their masculinity, and an affront to their very way of life.”(Haltiwanger, “I Am A Man and I Need Feminism”). What they do not realize is, that they are victims. Most men are victims of physical abuse and sex crime. They feel insecure about themselves when

According to a recent study from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, for every dollar a man makes, women get paid 77 cents (Pay). On average that 's a variance of at least $10,000 annually. Although, much needs to be done to put men and women on an equal playing field, taking into account that not so long ago women were restricted to a very small array of job opportunities during times of peace, women have come leaps and bounds. Granted, the women’s movement successfully sought social opportunities previously not given to women, not all women benefited. In general, however, the movement improved the economic status and freedom and rights of most women, but there’s still a big distance to go to achieve social equality between the sexes. Women face gender discrimination when looking for work and in education, experience a sharp double standard, and a subjected to incessant online abuse.

There are many misconceptions about feminism. Some men see feminists as lesbians or man haters. Anti-feminists typically dictate the term as supporting women’s equality and opposing men’s. In addition, some more common misconceptions consist of feminism being a movement only for gender equality, a fight for matriarchy and power, and male feminists being considered against their gender. Many individuals see the word Feminism, and immediately interpret it as a movement strictly for women’s causes. However, men can be feminists too. In fact, anyone who believes in gender equality can be a feminist. Nevertheless, to me feminism is the movement that not just aims for women’s equality but also for men’s. Feminism embraces the belief that every human-being is entitled to freedom and liberty and should not be discriminated based on gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, culture, or lifestyle.

There is also an argument against feminism. Third wave feminism is mean, evil and vindictive towards men. It encourages division and discriminates against men at every opportunity. Feminists treat men horribly and then, when those men say that they aren’t feminists, they say but feminism is about equality. This is my argument against feminism. Feminism has moved from equality to female superiority. They have created a myth called the “patriarchy” which is the idea that ALL men think that they are superior to women in every field. This is a fantasy.

One of the most popular false beliefs about feminism is that it’s a female-only movement with the goal of female supremacy over the age old enemy, men. This commonly used misconception is usually heard spewing out of

Feminism has been portrayed in the media in a different perspective. It has been portrayed as a fight against men. This has created a picture that the female gender was fighting against the male gender.

This seemingly harmless word can ruin or heighten a person’s reputation, it can give someone new views on the world, it can destroy relationships, it can build new ones; this single word can change lives. Most people categorize “feminism” as a code for women that tells them to hate men, not shave, burn bras, be vegan, and if there is any time left over maybe, just maybe, to fight for women’s rights. Now, there are definitely feminists that fulfill this stereotype but the vast majority of women and men do not. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, feminism is defined as “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” This does not mean that women are better than men, or that they deserve more money or respect. Nowhere in this definition does it mention that all feminists are lesbians and all men are rapists and abusers. These ridiculous generalities are simply social constructs that were created back when women were fighting for basic rights and somehow morphed into absurd and unrealistic stereotypes.

The basis of the study originated on multiple previous studies with added variables and altered surveys. The research began with a sound base and high reliability and validity. By taking previous information, the researchers were able to revalidate older studies and add new information. This was the first study done with sole female participants; the previous studies had looked at sexist discrimination before, but with males as well. Participants’ race was varied, adding to the external validity of the results. The analysis looked at the variables individually and collectively to produce more information from the data they collected. In addition, they studied private and public feminist identity in order to eliminate issues of construct validity in the definition.

In comparison to men, women are not making nearly as much money as men. Over time not much improvement had been made in women’s income, and they still made a significant, lesser, amount of money. Aside from that, females are also segregated from males in multiple categories with downgrading outcomes for the development of their choices and capabilities. To summarize, it is clear that feminism is a noteworthy issue that hasn’t been addressed formally enough.

Although the Equal Pay Act was put into place, women still are not paid as much as men. On average, women are paid 79 cents for every dollar men are paid. This is even worse for women of minorities. Black women are paid 63 cents for every dollar men are paid, and Hispanic women are paid 54 cents for every dollar men are paid (Hoover). This is surprising, especially because research says women affect roughly 80% of customers' purchases positively (Reich and McCulloch). Women are doing the same work and the same amount of work as men, but are not getting paid as much. For example, "Female financial specialists make 66% of what males do. Doctors make 71%, and lawyers and judges make 87%," (Hardwick). Females working the same job as males are being paid fractions of what the men are paid. Instead of society bettering itself, it has taken steps back because of this discrimination.