When I first heard the news that a woman would at last be gracing the front of the $10 bill, I was ecstatic. I’ve never given much thought to the U.S. Treasury, nor do I spend ample time examining our nation’s currency, but I knew that it was finally time for change (pun intended). After all, women have come so far in the last half-century, and I think that it is about time we are rewarded for our hardship and struggle.

But the more I contemplated our progress, the more I began to disagree with this decision. Yes, women have come a long way; yes, we have suffered and fought and faced adversities that men will never have to; and yes, progress has to start somewhere. But, why here?

Before you jump to conclusions, I ask you this, “What significance does placing a woman on the $10 bill really have?” Think about it.

Does it show that men and women are finally equals? Because last time I checked, a woman still made $0.77 to every $1 a man made.

This will not change that.

Will it prevent people from judging females based off their appearance instead of who they are as a person? Definitely not.

This will not change that.

Is it going to shatter the glass ceiling which prevents women from reaching upper-level employment positions? Of course not.

This will not change that.

Some will argue that it is the mere symbolism of placing a female on the bill that is vital and that it’s the first step towards complete parity. But, in reality, it simply reinforces the fact that society will bow down to any form of public pressure that is considered to be "progressive." Replacing Alexander Hamilton as the face of the $10 bill is not gender improvement because what we are doing has no true substance- we are simply disrespecting the legacy that Hamilton left.

No matter what side of the aisle you occupy, we can all agree on one thing- the men whose faces currently occupy the U.S. bills were integral members in creating the wonderful country that we are blessed to live in. If women were the founding fathers mothers of this country, then their faces would be on the dollar bills. But they were not, so they should not. The fact of the matter is that a woman did not found this country, nor has one been President of the United States, and that’s okay.

On the Fourth of July, do we celebrate our independence from England in 1776, or do we boycott it because women were not allowed to fight in the Revolution?

Should we take down the Statue of Liberty because it is a Caucasian female and thus does not represent every individual who now resides within the United States of America?

Should we dynamite Mount Rushmore because it depicts the faces of four male Presidents and not a historic female figure?

I can only hope that your answer to the aforementioned questions is, “Absolutely not! That’s absurd!” But, what makes this act so different? We are trying to justify the fact that any woman of significance in the history of the United States should be considered equivalent to the men who founded it.

No matter what we do or think, nothing will ever change the fact that George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison founded this country. No one will ever be as important as they are, because without them, the United States of America would cease to exist. The sooner people accept this, the sooner we can make meaningful progress. Anything that bears their name or face should never be replaced.

Further, a woman already is depicted on a form of US currency- Susan B. Anthony on the silver dollar. So, why alter the bills? Women can proudly say that there is a female on the largest coin in circulation in the United States, and we have been able to say that for the last 35 years.

Source: blog.ha.com

The fact that everyone has disregarded the silver dollar further proves the point that putting a woman on the $10 bill will be just as irrelevant for the gender equality movement we wish to achieve as a country. The U.S. bills are not the appropriate venue for implementing such advancement.

This is not a red-blue issue; this is not a feminist-misogynist issue; this is not even a right-wrong issue; this is a why issue. We should be focusing on equality in all sectors of business, government, and mentality, not on a piece of crumpled paper that Americans value only for its numerical significance.

Our history is what makes us great. Our history shows how far we’ve come. We need to embrace it, not change it. And why are women settling for the $10 bill, anyway? We’re worth at least $100.