1. The gender wage gap.
Right now, women are making 77 cents to every man's dollar... for doing the same job. Six out of ten women are either the primary or co-breadwinner, making this a huge economic issue. Even women in hollywood, like Jennifer Lawrence, were paid less than their male co-stars.
2. Violence against women.
Almost 1 in 4 women have experienced domestic violence at some point of their life. Who's the main suspect when a woman is killed? A romantic partner because over 33% of the time, that's who did it. Sexual violence has been an issue throughout human history and unfortunately still continues to this day with a woman being raped every 6 seconds. A staggering 1 out of 5 women on college campuses will face sexual assault. I actually had a friend complain about the ad below because "Well, when you dress provocatively like that, you're just asking for it at that point..." Too often, girls are told the reason for the violence was their own negligence.
3. The lack of women in politics, STEM and senior corporate jobs.
Less than 20% of the House and Senate is made up of women. Look at the the massive field of presidential candidates; only 2 are women. Both experience sexism with comments on their appearance and allusions to their emotional "frailty." A report released in 2014 revealed that U.S. women working in science, engineering, and technology were 45% more likely than their male peers to leave the industry within a year due to experienced gender bias. Don't forget about the measly 15% of women who held senior positions in Fortune 500 companies.
4. Treatment of pregnant employees.
Only 11% of private-sector American employees offer paid maternity leave -- something that is mandated in every other industrialized nation in the world.There is also no federal law requiring employers to make reasonable accommodations to the needs of pregnant women like there are for employees with mental or physical disabilities.
5. Women in poverty.
Although one of the richest countries in the world, the U.S. has the largest number of homeless women and children compared to other industrialized nations. Seventy million women and children are struggling at the poverty line. A massive indicator of future financial struggles is teen pregnancy. Across all ethnicities and races, women are more likely to be in poverty than men.
6. The overall view of women and blatant sexism.
Just take a moment to think about what we are saying when we tell a little boy to stop acting like "such a girl," or that someone is playing a sport "like a girl." It's a diss and an insult to be a girl.
Look at the way media discusses women. The majority of the time its about their appearance, whether what they are wearing is appropriate, and God forbid they don't wear makeup.
If a woman has multiple romantic partners she's deemed a slut and "easy," but if a male is able to sleep with multiple women he's praised.
Women in the work place are viewed differently than men. If a female is strong willed and direct, she's called "bossy" or a "b*tch," whereas those qualities are praised in her male counterpart.
And I have to mention the complete disrespect and hate some people think it's okay to spew out into the world.
Just like every major movement, there are extremes. "Femi-nazis" do not embrace the feminist ideal. It's not about being better then men, it's not about tearing down a population in order to build you up.
IT'S ABOUT EQUALITY FOR ALL SEXES AND TREATING OUR FELLOW HUMANS WITH RESPECT.
