By Stephanie Harvey
Business Editor
Feminism, to the extent that it aims to end sexual discrimination, is a noble cause. Neither sex is superior or inferior to the other and all humans – males and females alike – deserve the same fundamental respect. Sadly, the feminist movement in America all too often misses the point. Women in America have obtained equal rights: the right to be a citizen, own property, receive an education, vote, hold public office, and – yes – receive equal pay for their labor.
In contrast, women in other parts of the world are denied these rights and more. In Saudi Arabia women are not legally permitted to drive. In some regions in the Middle East women are forbidden from exposing any of their skin. Clearly, these women deserve better treatment. And are feminists fighting for them? Well, often times not. Unfortunately, American feminism focuses inward when there is little change to be made rather than outward where atrocities are plentiful.
The loudest outcry from American feminists includes #FreeTheNipple and calls for equal pay in the United States. Being able to get a hashtag trending nationwide shows the power of American feminists. So why not use this power in a country that does not already have equal rights among men and women?
Additionally, the argument for equal pay is invalid since men and women in America are already paid equal. American feminists cry out about a supposed wage gap. This wage gap has been refuted by many economists. In the 95-page report “An Analysis of Reasons for the Disparity in Wages Between Men and Women,” economists evaluate how the wage gap only accounts for a median of all earnings of men and women, meaning it does not account for men and women in the same jobs. Women – although they are not forced into any job – tend to have lower paying jobs. This is the possible result of women wanting to work part-time jobs or nine-to-five jobs instead of working long hour jobs that typically pay more like stock brokers, surgeons, or lawyers largely because they are raising children.
In fact the Equal Pay Act of 1963 makes it illegal to discriminate “on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees in such establishment at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex.” It states that people can only be paid more on the basis of “(i) a seniority system; (ii) a merit system; (iii) a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or (iv) a differential based on any other factor other than sex.”
Another statistic that feminists argue that is misleading is from a 2007 study, The Campus Sexual Assault Study, which states one in five college women will be sexually assaulted. This statistic, even cited by President Barack Obama, cannot be automatically assumed just because one study found this to be true. When looking at statistics, one must look at the reliability of the study before claiming it to be true. The study only surveyed two universities, which does not accurately reflected sexual assault in American higher-level education. Also a large number of people did not respond to the survey, making the statistic an even greater misrepresentation. Even a high school student who has taken statistics for a year would know that this small sample size and potentially response biased makes these findings unreliable. To say that more women are sexually assaulted than the statistic shows is not based on fact.
Modern-day feminists in the U.S. have drastically steered away from the roots of the 1848-1920 Feminist Movement. The roots of feminists called for empowering women by giving them every legal right granted to men. However, feminism in America has evolved into women complaining on social media about misleading statistics. Feminists should instead use the voice and power they have on social media to make changes in countries where men and women are not equal.
