Minority groups have fought long and hard to achieve a measure of equality. Blood, sweat, and tears have run across this nation to fight systemic oppression and exclusion. Throughout the years, we've seen a progression and a gradual move toward equality, however, despite these incremental concessions, we know there is still much farther to go. Recent events have demonstrated just how much discrimination and hatred are still engrained in our culture.

People are still marching in the streets, screaming to get an acknowledgment of the fact that Black Lives Matter in this country.

Other groups are marginalized in subtle but systemic ways. Women are still victims of this exclusionary type of behavior. They fought to have the right to vote and the right to go to college; the right to hold certain types of jobs and the right to paid maternity leave. Today, they are still fighting for another right: equal pay for men and women.

On a soccer field, the game is the same whether the players are men or women. Players of both genders work hard, attend many practices, sacrifice precious time with their families, and train diligently to compete against the best. So why is it that women who play professional soccer receive less compensation than their male counterparts? Why is it that in the year 2020, there is still a perception that women are less than deserving of a high-paying salary while doing the same job as men? 

 

Last year, the prize money for the women’s World Cup was $30 million. In 2018, the prize money for the men’s World Cup was $400 million. A similar scenario exists in the WNBA, where a woman player's median salary is $71,635, while a male NBA player's salary is approximately $582,180.

Pay inequity is not the sole purview of the sports industry. In all sectors, gender gaps and pay inequality is practiced and accepted. In 2018, there was a wage gap of 18.9% in the United States between men and women. Women are already on an uneven playing field, often needing to work harder than men to achieve the same level of success. In many instances, they find themselves in the position of being the sole breadwinner in the family. Their sacrifices and doubled efforts go unnoticed, and ultimately, many women must accept the norm of pay inequality.

Last year, women accounted for 50.2 % of college-educated individuals in the workforce. Unfortunately, this percentage doesn’t translate in the workplace where women make 82 cents to every dollar earned by a man.

It's time to change the thinking that a man deserves to make more than a woman, simply because he's a man. Many years ago, men were the primary source of income for the family, but that is no longer the case. The old way of thinking and operating must come to an end. Women shouldn’t have to accept pay inequality or being passed over for promotions despite being qualified. We must disrupt the status quo now and fight for our sisters in the workplace. The pay disparity has existed for far too long.

As Mayor, I will always voice and fight for equality in every aspect of life, including recognizing the immense value that women bring to the table and compensating them fairly. I fight for my mother, my wife, and my daughters, who are among the strongest women I know. Their efforts and dedication to success deserve an equal and just reward.

We cannot call ourselves a free and equal nation until everyone is truly equal despite color, despite gender, despite origin, or religious belief. We are not genuinely progressive until everyone receives fair and equitable compensation for doing the same job. We will never be truly great until we can transcend ingrained bias and pre-conceptions and judge everyone solely on merit. These are the tenets upon which America was founded. They are the basis for a fair and equal society if we will only begin to practice them.

https://www.npr.org/2019/06/20/734408574/new-report-says-college-educated-women-will-soon-make-up-majority-of-u-s-labor-f

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2020/03/24/482141/quick-facts-gender-wage-gap/