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Letter to the Editor | Gender inequality only weighs the U.S. down

The United States has long been hailed as the land of the free, a land in which people can go to make their dreams come true. We boast of a higher quality of living, clean water and opportunity, but often neglect the inequality of the sexes that runs rampant in our streets.

In a country where millions of men and women reside, constructing the nation brick by brick, how is it possible that we still treat men and women so unequally? Anatomically speaking, there are differences between men and women, of course, but intelligence-wise? Capability-wise? What justifies the pay gap between men and women? What justifies the lack of women in higher paid and "respected" jobs?

In his weekly address, President Obama said, "In too many parts of the world, girls are still valued more for their bodies than for their minds. That's just plain wrong. And we all have to do more to stop it." The problem of inequality among the sexes is not simply a problem found in under-developed countries, but here at home as well.

According to the Global Gender Gap Report from 2014 (rankings based on economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment), the United States is number 20 in terms of gender equality. Twenty!

This means that unlike the cheers of "We're No. 1!" that we Americans often scream in bouts of patriotic pride, when it comes to gender equality, 19 countries can boast a better score than us. Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark take the top five spots.

This is unacceptable.

In the United States, women still make 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes for doing the same job, and make up only 20 percent of congressional seats in the United States government, although they make up over half of the country's population. Women are in no way inferior to men, but they are often given fewer opportunities and less respect than men are.

According to the Huffington Post, almost two million women are raped or almost raped every single year. That's about one in five women! It is not simply the pay gap or job market that is made more difficult for women, but everyday life.

The nation needs to wake up and fight for a more equal tomorrow. Leading sedentary lives in which equality is low on the list of things to change will only keep us in a rut.

If we want the United States to be No. 1 in the world, we need to act like it.

Marisa Arancibia

arancimn@miamioh.edu