The image of the U.S. is that it prides itself on being the pinnacle of equality, but reality paints a different picture. The workplace undoubtedly has one of the biggest shows of inequality.

There are countless anti- discrimination laws in place including those for age, gender, disability, origin and race. Yet, women are still getting paid less than men.

The first major movement for equal pay was all the way back in 1883 when the Western Union Telegraph Company went on strike and strove for equal pay among its other demands. While the strike was ultimately unsuccessful, it was at least a step in the right direction.

In 1918 during World War I, a list of jobs capable of being completed by women was sent out to encourage able bodied men to leave for war. Since the women would do a job originally done by men, they got paid the same salaries.

According to the American Association of University Women in the 1930s female government workers were required to be paid 25 percent less than their male counterparts.

The same went for World War II, however, the reasoning was inherently selfish. People worried that if a woman worked for a lower salary, the companies would try to pay that lower salary to the men when they returned.

When men came back from war, woman were expected to stay home. So, the wage gap was ignored for several years.

However, the Equal pay Act was passed in 1963 by President John F Kennedy, and women have had more wins since then.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 which protects female employees was one such victory.

The National Women’s Law Center stated that a 20-year-old women today who will work full time for 40 years loses $418,800 over her career compared to her male co-workers. It gets even worse for other races.

Black women stand to lose $840,040, native women $934,240 and Hispanics over 1 million when compared to white, Non-Hispanic men.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 has been in place for over 50 years. It’s 2018 and still, on average, for every dollar a man makes, a woman makes 80 cents.

The Equal Pay Act either needs to be updated or a new, similar law must be put in its place.

If the U.S. wants to call itself a land of equality, then it needs to prove that it actually is, and until every paycheck for the same job is identical that won’t be true.

A bill was attempted in 2013 that would have made it illegal for employers to retaliate against employees who discuss their wages, but it failed. Still, it proves the government does consider the concerns of the public.

The wage gap isn’t something that citizens alone can fix. The state and federal governments must come together to handle this problem. Citizens can protest and create petitions to fight for their rights, but the government needs to continue to listen and actively solve the problems.

Illinois’ senator Tammy Duckworth is attempting to lessen the problems for women, especially those in the workplace. She focuses on several other areas too including legislation on veterans and the disabled, but she still assists in legislation that helps women.

Being one of only ten women to give birth in congress, she has been working on legislation to give paid family leave for workers, both men and women.

Duckworth is just one example, several female senators and representatives are currently sponsoring bills to fight for women’s rights, and the wage gap should be a top contender.