Zoey Weinstein Sustainability Blog
Zoey Weinstein
Mr. Roddy
Global Politics
9/19/2018
Sustainability Blog
One of the major issues concerning women in America and all over the world today and for the past 88 years is the wage gap or gender pay gap. On average, nationally, women earn approximately 78 cents to the man’s dollar. The wage gap impacts women different ethnic backgrounds even more. According to the huffington post, Latina women earn 56% of what a white man makes and black women earn 64%.
The first and most impactful thing the United States needs to do is pass equal pay legislation in all 50 states. Many states have enforced the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), an amendment that ensures that nobody faces discrimination based in their sex, especially in the workplace. This past May, Illinois became the 37th state to ratify this amendment. The first clause of the ERA is “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” This amendment does not state that it protects women specifically, but will help people of all genders stive for equal pay. If we had this amendment passed in the constitutions of all 50 states, we would be well on out path to closing the wage gap.
Works Cited
Comments
This is an interesting topic! Once the amendment is ratified, what would be the next natural step in taking care of this issue?