Discrimination Against Women; Past and Present

How have we come this far in history, making progress in advancing technology, testing our minds to new limits and making remarkable discoveries, all while overlooking a monumental universal problem? The act of discriminating against women has been going on for hundreds of years, and there is no time like the present to put a stop to something that we have allowed to go on for too long. Imagine all of the things that we could discover and invent, if we just took away the restrictive boundaries that fall upon our women and young girls today. Take a look at the Minor v. Happersett case of 1875. Virginia Louisa Minor was a women's suffrage activist who constantly took public stands on what she believed in. On February 9, 1875, Minor went to court to sue Reese Happersett because he refused to register her to vote, even though she was a citizen of the United States and over 21. They backed up their decision to deny her the ability to vote, based on the specific voting laws in Missouri (MO), despite there being wording in the Fourteenth Amendment in the Constitution, that implied that women did have the right to vote. Her court case ended up being an epiphany to women in the United States because of the final verdict. Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment in the Constitution, did not support the right for women to vote, and individual states were in charge of deciding their own state’s voting laws, not the Supreme Court. This decision allowed both women and men to realize that according to the Constitution, women were not considered ‘true’ citizens of the United States, no matter the qualifications. That being said, people must abide by the laws specific to their state, meaning that Minor and all the other women of MO, and other states with laws against women voting, would be unable to vote.
The verdict for this case made women realize that if they wanted something to change, they couldn’t wait around for it to happen. They would have to do it themselves. Suffragettes went around to many different states and personally convinced quite a few state governments to change their laws to be inclusive of women being able to vote alongside men. This one dramatic change, led by women, was the first major step to the creation of the Nineteenth Amendment. A major part of our country's history was the suffrage of women and how they overcame struggles and proved people wrong. The women also didn’t stop working to make a change in something that they felt needed to change for the greater good of women and the country. If such a large impact came from women being involved and speaking out in social issues, why are we limiting the actions that women can take, or looking down at them in a negative way, holding them to unrealistic stereotypes? If we just got rid of the boundaries set on women, the amount of progress and achievements that we could accomplish would become limitless. The only way we can do this, however, is by joining together and fighting to stop discrimination against women.
When it comes to acknowledging and facing this issue head on in the 21st century, many deny and show a negative attitude towards the idea that this discrimination is still common and a problem that has yet to be resolved. They believe that discrimination shown towards women is significantly less, if not non-existent, compared to the past. An article “The New York Post” entitled “Women think the workplace is unfair... this is why they're wrong,” showcases others’ opinions and points on the issue. The author makes a bold move by stating “...the impression (of the workplace being unfair for women) isn’t driven by what we actually experience, but by what we’re constantly told by others.” S/he is telling us that we, everyone who sees this case for what it is, are only tricking ourselves into believing this that issue is relevant based on people who falsely claim and fight to get rid of the discrimination. Those who are ‘convincing’ us that this subject is prevalent are also affected by this illusion, as none of this is actually true or as important as it once was. The reason why this statement is so bold is that the author is assuming what every single women has gone through and experienced, when in reality, s/he has no clue, and no right, to say what people have and have not experienced throughout their life. Sure there are many people who haven’t seen, or experienced a harsh form of discrimination specifically in the workplace, like equal pay and equal job opportunities, but there are just as many people who have experienced discrimination through statements or the way people talk to women and overall body language shown on a daily basis. The banning together of people that the author is referencing, is just the sort of thing that should be encouraged, not torn down, as the strength that comes with numbers, is what we need to create equality for everyone.
We may have come far from the inequalities that have faced women in the past, but we still have many more to overcome in the grand scheme of things. As a whole, we should take a look back and learn from the women and events of the past, and pick up where they left off in the fight to change the discrimination against women. It will not be easy, nor will it be quick, to create this big of a change in our society that dates back hundreds and hundreds of years. But, with every rally, every march, every PSA, every person that tries to make a difference and spread awareness, brings us one step closer, to changing the world.

“A wise woman wishes to be no one's enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone's victim” -Maya Angelou