One of the biggest issues that women face in society is the gender wage gap. Women are as equally qualified to work the same jobs that men are and should be getting paid the same wages. It is unfair to believe that someone is only getting paid more based on their sexual orientation at birth.

Women face many disadvantages in society due to patriarchy. Patriarchy is the idea that everything in our society is male dominated, and that women don’t have the same equal opportunity to pursue a successful life.

According to the Canadian Women’s Foundation women who are full-time employees earn $0.71 for every $1.00 earned by men. Women are making approximately thirty cents less than the average male, when they are working the same types of jobs!

Statistics from the organization for economic co-operation and development (OECD) stated that in 2014, Canada ranked seventh out of 34 countries surveyed of the highest gender wage gap. That means in a lot of Canadian higher status jobs, the male population is dominating. This makes it concerning being a young adult female entering the working world. Are there going to be higher waged jobs available for women?

Women only hold a third of the leadership roles in the public and private sector.

There are more women who are entering the science, technology, engineering, mathematics and computer technology (STEM) field of work, however they are still getting paid less. According to Statistics Canada, 2015 males who graduate from STEM programs earn $62,300 where the women are only earning $53,200. That’s almost a $10,000 difference.

In Ontario, if women wanted to earn the equal amount of what a man earns by 65 years old, they would have to work an additional 14 years.

It is unfair for women who are working the same jobs to be getting paid less due to their gender. They have gone through the same amount of schooling or sometimes more so that they are deemed qualified for a higher paid leadership job. It is ridiculous to believe that they may be turned down because they are female, or get hired but are paid a quarter less than males, although they are working the same job.

When society differentiates what is the ideal male and female jobs, it creates very sexist views. Who gets to determine what is a female vs. male job? Everyone should have an equal chance to work in a field that they enjoy, as well as be paid equally for working the same jobs.

An article from the New York Times, provided the results from the United States 2016 presidential election. It showed that 53 per cent of U.S. male citizens voted for Donald Trump to win over Hillary Clinton. This is an example of patriarchy as over half of the male population would rather have a male over a female in a qualified leadership position.

Men and women should have equal rights; however, women have to work harder to earn their place.

If a man and woman get hired at the same time, often they pay the male more because they believe that he is a better fit for the job. The woman has to prove herself, showing that she wants to be there and is worthy of the job. She has to demonstrate that she appreciates the job she has been “given” even though it was earned.

This is saying that women are not intelligent enough to work in higher management positions. Most people believe that women should stick with the traditional domestic jobs that they are expected to do. The Canadian Women’s Foundation states that people don’t think that women are skilled enough to work for more than a lower income job.

Due to these results, women are faced working many part-time and minimum wage jobs. On average 70 per cent of Canadian women work part-time and 66 per cent work at the minimum wage level.

Women are stuck working these minimum waged jobs because the male employers don’t seem them as being capable to fulfill management and leadership positions.

Many grocery stores employ middle-aged women who work the majority of the positions, except for the managerial role. Many believe that women can only do the work when directed by a male influence and don’t trust them to be the ones in charge.

Women are not appreciated for the little jobs that they do, and are taken advantage of. Men believe since they make more money that they hold the power in the household. This leaves women feeling very powerless and hopeless.

The idea of a patriarchy needs to disappear and everyone needs to have equal rights to pursue the jobs that they are interested in.