As of the year 2015, women are only paid 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. According to aauw.org, women typically earn 90 percent of what men are paid until they hit the age of 35. After they pass that age, the percent slowly starts to drop. By the age 55, the percent decreases to the lowest of 74. Some people may not agree, but age is not just a number.

It gets even worse for women of color. Hispanic, African American, Native Hawaiian, and other native women have lower median annual earnings compared with non-Hispanic and Asian American women. Also according to aauw.org, in 2015, the gap was largest for Hispanic women, who were only paid 54 percent of what men were paid. According to iwpr.org’s research, Hispanic women will have to wait until the year 2248 for equal pay, and African American women will have to wait until the year 2124 for equal pay.

Location plays a big role. Different states have different percentages. In New York, the gap is only 89 percent compared to Wyoming’s percentage of 64. You can find the list of each state’s percentage on aauw.org.

Even with a higher education, men still get paid more. In some cases, such as doctors, dentists, etc, the gender pay gap is larger at higher levels of education. Although having a higher education does improve earnings for women, it does get affected by your race or ethnicity. White women get paid more than African Americans, Hispanics, etc. at all education levels.

College students face debt troubles everyday. According to aauw.org, women who finish a college degree are less likely to pay off student debt promptly, leaving them to pay more for a longer time than men. The percentage of debt paid off through years 2009-2012 for women is 33 percent, compared to the percentage of men which is 44.

According to nwlc.org, women that are in a same-sex relationship earn a median income of 38,000 compared to a man in a same-sex relationship who earns a median income of 47,000+. Meanwhile, once a transgender woman transitions, their average earnings fall by nearly one-third.

There are single mothers all across the country. Where are they going to end up when they have to give up their child due to unequal pay?

As well as single mothers, there are also single women. Also according to nwlc.org, never-married women who work full time, year round are typically paid only 73 cents for every dollar paid to a full time, year round working man. If you estimate how much gas, rent, water, car payment, food, health insurance, and student loan bills are each year, the gap would be around $10,000+ less per year.

Even when women are retired, they experience a wage gap retirement income! A woman who worked full time, year round would typically lose $400,000+ in a 40-year period. This woman would have to work more than ten years longer to make up this lifetime wage gap. Who has the time for that?

To top it all off, women with disabilities working full time, year round only get paid 72 cents for every dollar a man without disabilities is paid. According to bls.gov, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is 10.7 percent compared to a person without disabilities, which is only 5.1 percent.

“I do not think anyone should be discriminated in any way. Everyone should be treated equally, regardless if they have disabilities or not.” History teacher Dave Clulo said.

There have been many protests women have done to try to unite the two genders. Protests such as the women’s march. On Jan. 21, women from around the world gathered in Washington, D.C. to march. According to womensmarch.com, the protest focused on ending violence, environmental justice, workers, LGBTQ+, disability, reproductive, and immigrant rights. This protest is a perfect example of women, and men, coming together to try to bring equality to everyone. Just recently the U.S women’s hockey team boycotted the world championships due to the pay gap between them and the men hockey team. After many stressful days, the girls finally got a pay raise, and were able to take one step further to equality.

“Women need to feel comfortable and empowered to advocate for a higher starting salary that near those of the male counterparts. The best companies would pay all employees a salary based on quality of work regardless of gender. People need to get paid of their worth.” English teacher Gabriella Schmalenburg said.

It should not matter if one gender starts with a W and the other starts with an M. We should all get the pay that we have worked for. We should not have to work the same job and same hours just to have a person earn more money because they are classified as a man. Women work just as hard as men do at their jobs, and sometimes even harder. No matter what race, sexuality, relationship status, or age, all women should be able to get the pay they have earned.