For as far as the eye can see, big colored signs with boldly painted letters bob up and down the street. Under the posters, a shockingly massive sea of people moves with purpose. Look closer, and one can see their faces stained pink from passion and cold temperatures. To shield from the harsh cold, all types of people are huddling together, walking together, laughing together. Listen closer, and one can hear their protests, full of conviction and hope. The wave moves further and further down the street, unrelenting. Finally, their bright signs start to go up higher and their impassioned voices begin to get louder. They have reached their final destination: the White House.

Gender inequality is by no means an easy fix, for social inequality is almost always deep-rooted in history. In the most primitive stages of the human race, females were naturally physically weaker than men, and—understandably—were the ones who stayed inside and took care of the domestic chores. However, as society evolved and moved away from a time in which brute strength was the most important characteristic one could have, society’s limitations and expectations did not. Still seen as generally weak and incompetent, females were restricted from proper education, work, voting rights, and so on. Instead, a woman’s only purposes were to birth children and carry out domestic work. Consequently, crimes against women, such as child marriage—which was usually associated with a dowry—, sexual abuse, and female infanticide, became prevalent across the globe. When people hear of these things nowadays, they often gasp at the fact that such crimes were the norm, and then move on with the rest of the day. Especially in more progressive countries like the United States, there is a general lack of awareness surrounding the fact that these crimes are still substantial issues in many countries. Each year, 12 million girls are married before the age of 18 (“Child Marriage Around the World”). Young girls, with bright minds and innocent smiles, are plucked out of their childhoods without any regard for what is just or fair. These girls are deprived of their educations and rights to learn and grow, and are thrusted into the arms of men who are old enough to be their fathers. As they sleep at night with strange men in unfamiliar places, they yearn for their homes, their families, their schoolmates, and even trivial things like their coloring books and dolls—which they were enjoying just weeks before. Their minds and thoughts will now be suppressed, and their innocence and soul now lie in the palm of a stranger.

Though the United States is one of the more progressive countries in the world, gender inequality leaves its dark marks there as well. In the United States, gender discrimination most often manifests itself in the workplace, especially in the form of a gender wage gap. On average, men still get paid more than women do for working the same job. In fact, in 2017, female full-time, year-round workers made only 80.5 on every dollar earned by men, which equates to a gender wage gap of 20 percent (“Pay Equity & Discrimination”). The wage gap is even more drastic for women of color. While these statistics may be jarring to some, they are actually considered a huge improvement from past decades—which only speaks to the magnitude of this issue. Gender discrimination is also present in ways that are not so quantifiable and clear-cut, such as bias and sexual violence. In the workplace, many women are treated as incompetent, passed over for big assignments, slighted with sexist comments, and even subjected to sexual crimes. Sexual harassment has always been a serious issue, but in recent years it has risen to the forefront of national conversation and precipitated movements around the globe.

After President Trump was elected in 2016, many were outraged over his comments and beliefs, especially in regards to social equality. Soon after he was elected, the Women’s March was born. The Women’s March was a worldwide protest for social equality that took place immediately after President Trump’s inauguration. The first planned march was in Washington, D.C., where the Trump administration resides in the White House. The protest was the largest single-day protest in United States history, and many more followed in its wake (Chenoweth and Pressman). This wave of political activism eventually carried the people into another movement: the MeToo movement. The MeToo movement was founded in 2006 in order to help survivors of sexual violence—especially women of color—from impoverished communities. However, the MeToo movement recently took on a new life. In 2017, dozens of women conducted sexual abuse allegations against the American film director Harvey Weinstein. Since then, more than 80 high-profile women in the film industry have accused him of sexual crimes. These women claimed Weinstein sexually assaulted them and then, to keep them quiet, bribed them or used his influence in the film industry to ruin their careers. After the public gained knowledge of these allegations, the hashtag #MeToo went viral on social media to raise awareness about the prevalence of sexual violence, especially in the workplace. Phones lit up around the world. Messages flooded the internet, revealing messages and stories of resilience and trauma. Everybody—whether in a house, a school, an office, or even the White House—stared at their screens, in anticipation of who would say what next. While the MeToo movement has encouraged victims to speak about their experiences, many survivors still stay quiet in fear of damaging their careers and reputations, or getting bashed by the public and media. These survivors are also often traumatized, and either too ashamed to speak up, or simply not educated on sexual violence. These sentiments are only worsened by the fact that society continues to shame women for their sexuality, and many people claim the victim is deserving of the crime.

The human race has changed much since the years of the cavemen, and now creativity and intelligence are some of the most important traits one can possess. Women, many of which possess the aforementioned traits, undoubtedly have a place in modern society. In fact, if women had the same opportunities as men, the political, economic, and social effects would be wondrous. For these reasons, the world must work to abolish gender roles and provide equal opportunities and resources for women around the globe by creating programs, educating children, raising awareness, and effecting change through government. People will continue to march. People will continue to paint signs and march on Washington, using their voices of conviction and hope. People will continue to run for political offices, from which they might be able to bring about change. Still, it is not enough. Every person—no matter his or her skin color, gender, age, or social status—has a voice. Every person has the power to effect change and amend the wounds of society, if only he or she would try.