When people hear the words “gender pay gap” or anything associated with it, they brush it off as a trivial issue that has nothing to do with the present world.  That is where as humans, we are able to be deceived so easily with a few lies or customs that seem to be a permanent part of society. The gender pay gap is not a new issue, nor is it fading away. According to Borgna Brunner in the online article “The Equal Pay Act,” after World War II, women’s jobs were given back to men returning from war. After the war in the late 40s, 50s, and early 60s, newspapers that advertised help wanted usually specified they wanted male help, and when a job advertised availability to females, female salaries appeared in a different bracket, which were of course, considerably lower than male salaries, women on average earning 59-64 cents for every dollar men earned working the same job. This did not subside until the early 60s when the Equal Pay Act was passed and when paying women lower rates than men was declared illegal (Brunner para. 1, 3, & 4). To this day, women are receiving lower wages than men for doing the same work, which is supposed to be illegal. Laws prohibiting unequal pay are being disregarded, and women in the workplace are being negatively perceived, so taking serious steps to ensure the gender pay gap is discontinued is essential for the equality of all.
      

   Without explanation, there is still unequal pay today, regardless of what is legal. Stated in the online article “Pay Equity and Discrimination,” The Equal Pay Act of 1963 declares that no one is to receive unequal pay based on their sex, yet we still have a wage difference of about twenty-three percent today (“Pay Equity”  para. 1). If we do a little math, we find the Equal Pay Act was passed fifty-one years ago. Needless to say, unequal pay was supposed to have been abolished when the Act was passed in ’63, but progress is much slower than is satisfactory or than what most people realize. “Pay Equity and Discrimination” also states that if progress towards equal pay maintains the same pace it has for the past fifty years, we will not arrive at equal pay until 2058 (“Pay Equity” para. 5). The fact that unequal pay is still an issue is outrageous in itself, but even more so is the fact that we’re not projected to ascend out of it for half a century.
       

  Women who are successful or are working to become successful in their place of work meet obstacles because of the negative way their colleagues, men and women, view them. Christine Dugas says in her article “Gender Pay Gap Persists” that women who try to negotiate better salaries for themselves are negatively perceived and may very well be penalized for it, while men are not (Dugas para. 10). If women are not able to negotiate their salary, they cannot help earn better wages for themselves, and therefore, have a disadvantage that is not an issue for men.  According to Sheryl Sandberg, author of Lean In and chief operating operator of Facebook, an experiment conducted by Professors Frank Flynn from New York University and Cameron Anderson from Columbia Business School provides proof when students read a report by Heidi Roizen, explaining her success. Half of the students read what they thought was a report written by a man about a man, because Heidi’s name was changed to Howard in the reports they read for the sake of the experiment. When polled, students said that Howard was an agreeable associate; however, students who evaluated Heidi said she came across as “selfish and not the type of person you would want to work for” (Sandberg 44 & 45). The results of this experiment proves that men and women both feel more inclined support men more when it comes to leadership in the workplace. Sandberg also makes a point that a woman who is a go-getter, just the same as successful men, is commonly called “bossy” or “aggressive” for actions that should be moving her up in the workplace (Sandberg 45). The view people, men and women, have of women in the workplace is still negative, and that is hindering women’s success to a great extent. If women in general are biased to people in general, what are we to do to overcome that and become leaders? 
      

   A common argument used to disprove the gap is as follows: The pay gap exists because men generally enter higher paying careers and work more hours than women, so closing the gap would not be possible without paying women more for the same amount of work as men. We are not asking for higher pay than men, we are asking for equal pay, which many think we have already. Shaun Gallagher states in his article “Mind the Male/Female Income Gap, But Don’t Exaggerate It” that in the same occupation, female workers make about 86% of what their male collegues make working the same hours (Gallagher para. 5). This means that side by side and doing the same work, women are being denied 14% of pay earned by men, simply for the reason that she is female.  In this way, prejudice against women in the workplace is proven to be serious and affect their salaries.
      

   It is one thing to acquaint a problem; however, it is another thing entirely to propose a solution, which can prove to be a challenge. Unlike some other, more alien problems, we can do a number of distinct things to help eliminate the gender gap. We must enforce the laws that prohibit unequal pay more heavily. Obviously if the Equal Pay Act is not being followed carefully or the gap would not be an issue. We must also alter our attitudes about women in the workplace. While this step may not be as concrete as others, it is a vital step we all must take. Women cannot be fully respected and treated equally until they are no longer viewed negatively by their peers and colleagues simply for being female, which they have no control over. The third thing that must be done is, according to Sheryl Sandberg, fathers need to step up and share equally the responsibilities of the home and family, rather than press these duties solely on the mother (Sandberg 45). In doing this, mothers will be able to work the same amount of hours as fathers, and the children will not be neglected, and might, in fact, become more well rounded by having the influence of both mother and father. But one of the most important things that must be done starts when a young lady is small. Parents need to make encouraging their little girl to follow her dreams a big priority in raising her. She needs to understand she has the right to enter her career of choice and become successful, not just marry someone who will be successful, cook for him, and bear and care for his children. Little girls must understand from a young age that they are meant for great things, despite what anyone else tries to force upon them. When we have done that, we will have repaired the struggle that goes on in a woman’s mind that tells her she needs to hold herself back and let men take the lead.
       

  People must alter the way they view women in the workplace and the Equal Pay Act must be better enforced. We’ve got a colossal task ahead of us that must be addressed by everyone, if we wish to see change, and we should. America has a way of bashing feminism and making it seem like feminists want to rule the world. That is the falsest of statements. Every girl, young or old, should demand to be equal in society, which is what feminism is really about. We demand equality for everyone. We must silence the voice that suggests women are lesser, and we must proclaim equal opportunity for all.

Works Cited
Brunner, Borgna. “The Equal Pay Act: A History of Pay Inequality in the U.S.” infoplease.com 2007. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Dugas, Christine. “Gender Pay Gap Persists.” USA Today. 24 Oct. 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Gallagher, Shaun. “Mind the Male/Female Income Gap, But Don’t Exaggerate It.” Forbes.com
21 May. 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
“Pay Equity and Discrimination.” Iwpr.org Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
Sandberg, Sheryl. “Why I Want Women to Lean In.” Time. 18 Mar. 2013. Print. 27 Mar 2014.