How Are Women Treated Differently From Men In America?

People have always had an uncanny ability to discriminate, even if it is unintentional, and
that behavior has become so common that in a sense it is normal. At some point long ago,
women were thought of as weak, a household figure, and nothing more but someone to marry
and have kids with. Step forward in time to now and women are strong-willed fighters,
successful workers in the labor force, and pretty much anything they aspire to be. However,
whether it be financially, politically, physically, or socially, there is no doubt that women are still
treated differently than men all over America.

Financially
Samantha, 25 years old, had been working for nearly one year at a company in New York
when she discovered she was being paid significantly less than her male co-workers. Having two
years of experience under her belt, she earned an annual salary of $45,000 compared to her male
colleague who was earning an entry level annual salary of $52,000. She had approached her
boss, the only woman holding a leadership position, seeking financial compensation. It was with
luck the company had saw Samantha having 9% more worth than previous which brought her
annual salary up to $48,000. Despite, this is still $4,000 less than her male colleague who was at
the lowest position possible. Had Samantha been male instead of female, there is no doubt she
would have received outstandingly more income with her high position of work. However,
Samantha was not male and she had a blatant seniority over her starting colleague which leads
this to the point that financially speaking, women are inferior to their male counterparts and are
being paid far less than equal.

In this time and age, women make up 46% nearly half of the U.S. labor force compared
to lets say the 1900s. They have achieved stupendous margins of success over the decades by
slowly moving into jobs only men would have normally carried and practically diminishing
social norms of being the household wife. Many would like to believe that, with the time that has
passed and effort taken into account, women would have had equal rights in the working field.
Have they not proved their worth and willpower during the war times, after all? But this is
certainly not the case as women are still viewed as subordinate in many occupations, as subtle or
as forthright as it may appear.
According the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median weekly earnings of full time
workers were $827 for the third quarter of 2016. Women only made $745 compared to the $911
median for men, approximately 82 percent of their earnings. The pay gap extends to race and
ethnicity also, with African American women earning only 83 percent, Asian women earning 70
percent, and Hispanic women earning 89 percent in comparison to their male counterparts. These
numbers prove that gender wage gap is not a myth but a reality. It exists almost everywhere,
from small businesses to large corporations and companies. But women arent choosing to make
less.
Research done from the Institute For Womens Policy Research suggests that regardless
of the level of qualification, the occupations that women manage are paid principally less than
what a man would have been paid if he were to work the same job. Studies and data from the
IWPR also show that should this slow change in the gender wage gap continue, it will take
approximately another 44 years until women can achieve equal pay. Even then, the fate of this
rests on the people and owners of businesses because only they can change this. A federal law
already exists, the Equal Pay Act (EPA), which requires all employers to pay their male and

female employees the same and this includes salary, benefits, and bonuses. Obviously, if the law
was enforced, then the gender wage gap would not exist and women would have received equal
pay alongside men.

Politically
The ambitions of men and women in politics are still treated differently today. In politics,
men are seen as more powerful than women. Men take the lead roles more often than women.
Unlike the past, women today are taking more political positions, but we are still not at the same
level as men.
Women are often criticized over appearance more often than their male counterparts.
Hillary Clinton and Wendy Davis are often criticized based on outfits and appearances rather
than their campaign messages, stated Brandon Gamez, from The University Star.

The

appearance of a women is the first impression which is important for women in the political
world, as a step closer to working their way up to power.
Women are a minority in government, even though 51% of the U.S population is made up
of women. The U.S congress consists of only 20% that are women. Along with that in articles
about political issues show how women in politics are treated distinctively. Nina Bahadur,
Deputy Editor of the HuffPost Women, showed evidence that 9.4% of the time articles were
focused on character traits for woman rather than political issues. On the other hand, men
character traits were only discussed 6% of the time.
It's not as obvious as it was before that women in the political workforce get treated
differently. These days actions demonstrate the difference rather than words. According to Jenna
Goudreau, from business Insider, women get interrupted or ignored in meetings. Women get less

credit in group projects. Women get promoted on performance which must prove their capability,
while men get promoted based on their potential.
Even though there are less women in the political world, women are rising to higher
levels. For example, Hillary clinton was our first female presidential candidate. Even though she
didn't win she came close to presidency, which can be taken as an advantage or disadvantage.
According to Danney Hayes and Jennifer L. Lawless, from The Washington Post, women believe
they must be twice as good as men in order to be half as good as them, which discourages
women from running for office.
Overall, women prefer different parties, are less engaged, and less active in politics.
When a certain group does not feel as they are given the respect they deserve, that allows them
to disconnect from what their main goal was, causing women to feel insecure about taking a risk
and challenging themselves.

Physically:
For quite a while women were seen as lesser human beings than men. Their job was to
take care of the family and only the family while men dominated the economy, political world
and so on. Although this was the norm for the longest time, women have come along way to get
equal rights. While they have been successfully putting up a fight, they are still being treated
differently on some lines whether it is positive or negative.
Human trafficking has been part of America's history for a long time. The first form of
human trafficking began in the African slave trade where Europe and America took part of.
Though it was legal and condoned by the government it soon became illegal. In recent years the
U.S State Department states that around 600,000 to 800,000 people are smuggled in the
international borders every year. In the total amount of people being trafficked, about 80% of the

victims were female and half were children. Many of the children were reported to be runaway
girls who were sexually abused as a child.
A woman named Catalleya Storm has brought up her experience with human trafficking
in her TED talk. She addresses that like she and many other survivors were groomed before
getting trafficked. She defines grooming as in to prepare or train someone for a particular
purpose. She herself was personally groomed at age 14 by a man who she once saw as a youth
pastor rather than her trafficker.
In general, women are far more likely to become victims of the modern day slavery
known as human trafficking. Granted, men also are victims to trafficking but according to a
report in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology more females are forced out of their homes and
are put into trafficking business.
The overall difference of treatment of men and women is that there is a conception that
women are frail. With this misconception in mind females are more susceptible to violent crimes
like rape or domestic violence. According to cdc.gov nearly 1 out 4 women have been victim to
severe physical abuse by their partner. In other words every 9 seconds a women will either be
beaten or assaulted. Also, the U.S Department of Justice reports that intimate partner violence is
essentially a crime against women.
Ultimately, since the beginning of time women has had a submissive role. It has only
been recent in the United States history where women are getting the same opportunities and
rights as men. Though females have that to their advantage, they are still treated differently. Even
after many heroic achievements, the stigma of women being frail is still highly thought of which
in turn leads many to take advantage of them.
Socially

Throughout the years of history, a womans place in American society has changed
drastically, but despite all of the positive changes, women are still treated different from men. It
could sometimes come to our advantage but most of the time its a disadvantage as we are looked
down on and have certain expectations to live up to. Specifically, the social outlook on woman
shows that we are still discriminated against in social interactions and expected to not be as good
in areas where men excel.
For one, many opinions have been constructed based off women who have had
experiences of being talked down about. A blogger known as Danielle Burch stated her high
school experience by claiming, As a sixteen-year-old high school girl I can't count the number
of times I've heard people [mainly guys] saying girls are all prissy, high maintenance, emotional,
and gold-diggers (teenage-feminist.blogspot.ca). This is an example of girls being looked down
upon for the way they act. These judgements are unnecessary because these individuals who are
making the judgements are labeling all girls simply by an experience of some sort. Along with
being looked upon as being oversensitive, women have to deal with insecurities specifically for
being judged by their looks. The media portrays women of having to always look pretty and an
object for men to look at.
An example of the media displaying women as an object to get peoples attention include
mainly commercials. Specifically a few of the Carls Jr commercials have women dress
provocatively to have more views. Sometimes the commercial wont even really involve the
venue of Carls Jr as one specific commercials is taken on the beach with a girl in her bikini
eating a burger. Theres not a very clear relation between the fast food restaurant and a girl on a
beach. Its things like this that make women feel the expectation to look a certain way in order to

be considered pretty. With that being said, women have several stereotypes that they often feel
the need to live up to.
Along with the idea of women looking a certain way, we are socially expected to stay at
home when being a mom. Its expected to not have a full time career and be a good mother at the
same time. According to a website known as Parents.com, women now make up half of all
workers in the United States, with nearly 4 in 10 homes having a mom that is also a working
mother. Although that is a pretty good ratio of working mothers, they often are looked down of
not being capable of handling large workloads with children. A statistic was proven that a man
with children, the report concludes, is four times more likely to become a full professor than is a
woman with children.(curt-rice.com) and was proven by rating male and female applicants in a
certain workplace by their capabilities and commitment. Both genders had children at home.
With this specific statistic being shown, it should display the fact that women can still hold high
careers although it may be a bit more challenging for them. Women cannot be discriminated
against for having to balance out motherhood with a career, but more so be respected by it.
Furthermore, women have been discriminated socially with certain challenges to
overcome and it is up to American society to treat them more equal to men. Men have had
superiority for quite a long time and it is unfair if a woman is able to complete the same job.

Advantages
Being a woman in America there are many pressures and parameters we must follow to
appeal the society, yet we should also recognize the advantages we have as women such as;
being put into safer jobs/military, women typically can get out of legal situations, and women
receive chivalry. Women are mother figures and will support children because of the gender it is

in their good willed nature. Although women are discriminated against in economically,
politically, and physically; but we also have many advantages men do not have.
Being a woman, a child's caretaker your life is valued much higher which is why women
do not get drafted into the military and are placed in safer jobs with restrictions and codes in
place so safety is implied. Youre unlikely to be conscripted. In war, your collateral damage at
worst. No one is going to command you to risk your life capturing a cloud of dirt"
(huffingtonpost). Women are always being put first when it comes to their life nobody wants
women and children to die.
Being a woman, I can personally say it is a lot easier for me to get out of a legal situation,
then it is for my friend that is a man. How many stories have you heard where a woman gets
pulled over and can talk her way out of a ticket, it's highly likely you have heard a similar story.
This is not fair treatment. If you break the law you should be punished for what you did
disregarding your gender.
Lastly, every woman loves to receive chivalry - who doesn't? "In reality there is nothing
about chivalry that pins the concept against women's rights....chivalry simply dictated for men to
be courteous to women" (thoughtcatalog). Men simply go out of their way to show respect
towards women and I think that is a very flattering gesture. A man's innocent act of chivalry can
increase the woman's happiness due to a small insignificant gesture to show respect.
Being a woman in America, there are many pressures in parameters we must follow to
appeal the society, yet we should also recognize the advantages we have as women such as being
put into safe for jobs/military. Women typically get out of legal situations, and women also
receive chivalry. Women have been fighting for their rights in America since we came here and
we have came such a far away. As women, we need to look on the bright side and look at the

advantages that we have created for ourselves. Many of us get stuck looking at negative
associations when we should look at the positive aspects in life.
Although there are several disadvantages for women in the workforce, government, and
in everyday life, there are still strong benefits because like any other side there will always be
pros and cons. At the end of the day, society will only move forward and what was once
prejudice for women can be changed in the future. With confidence from here on out, the people
will be able to set aside the differences to make this change happen.