Women's rights are complex and multifaceted. Gender discrimination is present in almost every area of American life due to persisting systemic and cultural factors. While much progress has been made with the feminist movements, progress has largely been exclusive to white women, ignoring the intersectional problems plaguing women of color, immigrants, and trans women. This is especially true when examining the history of feminism in the United States.
EP recognizes gender is a spectrum. However, as this issue discusses the historical background of women's rights in the U.S. and, women's issues as specific societal problems resulting from patriarchy, ‘women’ are defined as those who identify as women and who faced societal barriers as a result.
(Source)
The wage gap is due to a multitude of factors such as an overrepresentation of women in lower-paying jobs, gender discrimination, the negative view of motherhood, and not being paid equally for doing the same job as men.
The wage gap is a central gender equality issue as it disadvantages women by replicating unequal power structures between men and women. In the U.S. almost every facet of life is determined by income, thus women earning less affects their societal power and day-to-day lives.
The wage gap is most significant for women of color and trans women, as biases compound. The US Department of Labor Statistics estimated that the wage gap causes women to earn an estimated $545.7 billion dollars less than men.
Reproductive freedoms give women agency over their bodies and have been long fought for. Many states have recently rolled back these freedoms through abortion bans and reduced access to sexual health services such as Planned Parenthood.
Restricting reproductive services makes it more dangerous for women, who may resort to harmful practices. While higher-income women may be able to work around these setbacks as they can travel out-of-state, many who are lower-income are at risk. Politics has complicated women's sexual health and reproductive rights, making it less about the issue at hand: women's health.
In Alabama, for example, Snickers bars are tax-free, while tampons are not. Thus, many women cannot afford to menstruate safely and hygienically because they cannot afford pads or tampons.
Period Poverty affects many women across the U.S., causing some women to miss work or school because they can’t afford the proper products. It can also lead to physical health risks.
Poor menstrual hygiene can lead to reproductive and urinary tract infections. Menstrual stigma makes it difficult to discuss period-related issues, which is why it is necessary to normalize period-talk. If enough people are advocating for an issue, such as reducing the cost of sanitation items, then it is likely a change will happen in the future, if the right state representatives are concerned. Access to period products is a human rights problem.
"Meeting the hygiene needs of all adolescent girls is a fundamental issue of human rights, dignity, and public health.”
Sanjay Wijesekera, former UNICEF Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Nearly 1/5 of women in the U.S. have experienced completed or attempted rape.
Sexual violence is physically, emotionally, and psychologically harmful. Out of all women, women of color and trans women are highly at risk for sexual violence and assault. According to the National Violence Research Centre, rape is the least reported and convicted crime.
This is a result of societal prejudices against victims of sexual assault and sexual assault in general. Sexual violence and assault are preventable, yet high rates of both occur, showcasing that sexual violence and assault are coded as “normal” in society - despite being physically, emotionally, and psychologically harmful for the victim.