Tuesday, April 12th, 2016 was Equal Pay Day across the nation. This day represents a movement to underscore the gender pay wage gap and to help protestors fight for the rights for equal pay for females. April 12th is also the date the symbolizes how far into the year women must work in order to earn what men earned in the previous year. The non-holiday is commemorated annually with massive protests across the United States.

On average, women make about $0.79 for every dollar that men make. This wage gap and gross disparity highlights the sexism and gender inequalities that females still face in the work force. The pay gap is even worse for minority women. Latina women’s Equal Pay Day is not until November 1st, African American women have to work until August 23rd, and Native American women have to work until September 13th. These numbers demonstrate why the fight for equal pay has grown throughout the years, even though the wage gap has remained static. Equal pay has evolved to become a very prevalent and pressing issue that many government officials, including those running for the presidential nomination in this year’s campaign race, must address and fix (USA Today).

In honor of Equal Pay Day, President Obama has designated a new national monument at a historic location in Washington, D.C., to honor the movement for women’s equality. The new Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument will protect the iconic house that has served as the headquarters for the National Women’s Party since 1929. From this house, known in recent years as the Sewall-Belmont House, members of the Party led the movement for women’s equality, authoring more than 600 pieces of federal, state and local legislation in support of equal rights. President Obama has often demonstrated his support for equal pay and states that, “Equal pay for equal work should be a fundamental principle of our economy” (Yahoo).

Junior Alyssa Garcia (11) passionately exclaims that “[she] thinks it is unfair how much longer women have to make to earn the same as men.” She further states that “[women] work just as hard as men and deserve to be compensated with equal pay.” The gender wage gap has also been an issue, and Equal Pay Day simply brings this issue into the spotlight. Regardless of how one feels about gender equality, there is no question when it comes to equal pay: females most deservedly should be paid the same amount as males do.