Studies suggest women won’t have equal pay until 2058

People always say things “don’t sweat the numbers,” “it’s just a number,” “numbers aren’t what’s important,” but let me just say that when it comes to things like a paycheck or I don’t know, maybe the integrity and honor of the female gender then things like the number on a bankroll mean a fair amount to me and should to the general populace as well. Sure numbers and money aren’t a recipe for happiness, but they have the potential to be a step towards equality between the sexes.

Hopefully it’s not new news that women get paid 0.79 cents on the dollar that men make. This is a backwards standard on the quality of one’s work simply because of what genitalia they possess, but even more so, this is something that you would think had been resolved by now in 2016. The Equal Pay Act has been the law for over 50 years, but the gap still exists on account of the act being outdated and weak in terms of enforcement.

What’s even more astounding though is the fact that we may never see equal pay in America during our generation’s lifetime. Take a minute to reread that line again – what the hell America?! A study done by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research says that by the time all of America’s 50 states closed the gender wage gap, it will be 2058. Another study done by the World Economic Forum projects that the gap won’t close for over 100 years from today. OVER 100 YEARS! That’s enough time for you to have a great grandchild. Either way, it’s looking like us ladies are going to be working our asses off and still getting treated as lesser.

Saying, “it’s 2016” can be a great punchline to the common joke, but the heart of the sentiment rings more true even still considering this information. There have been many strides in education and enforcement to close the wage gap, but the fact of the matter is still that women are making less than men as a collective. We all know women today are more educated and free than our sisters from the past, but in an age where radical social issues are the norm and people are working to secure human rights and freedoms across the board, doesn’t it seem absolutely ridiculous that we have to keep waiting just to get paid for the work we do?

Let those numbers sink in and imagine yourself, your sister, your mother, your daughter, your friend not getting paid fairly for the work they do. The fact we have to wait for an extended period of time makes it all the worse because it’s as though society is saying, “yeah we know it’s wrong and unfair, but just sit tight and we’ll get to fixing that eventually.” Call me crazy but I think that I would enjoy seeing my work fairly compensated immediately after completion, not in 40 to 100 years.

In 40 to 100 years, scientists are talking about the power to use holograms regularly, to cure countless complex diseases, to clone human beings, and to engage in teleportation. Does equal pay despite gender really seem to fit with that advanced list of human progression? I think I speak for the collective when I say, it’s 2016 and I’m done waiting.