You and your co-worker are working together on an article for the most recent issue of “The New York Post.” You have been hard at work since the very beginning while he has been slacking off and playing games on his phone. Everyday, for two weeks straight before the deadline, you stay for hours after the office empties out, to complete the work he was supposed to finish. You have the same job position, but get paid significantly less than him, even though everyone knows you are more hardworking and smarter. But why will you not get paid the same as your male co-worker? It’s because you’re a woman.

Compared to men, woman are treated unfairly in various ways. One prominent example is unequal pay. On average, women earn $10,800 less than men each year, according to Business Insider. In order to earn the same as men, women have to work 94 days more than men, which is signified by Equal Pay Day in April.

An anonymous source states, “I think it’s just been a long standing stigma that men do a better job than women, even when they don’t. One employee is a guy and he gets paid more than a girl. The employer may not even realize it. There is subconscious favoritism towards the male gender. Most of the time you don’t even notice it until someone points it out, which is why we need to point it out because it is such a problem. When kids are younger, guys often times get away with more things than girls. Boys will be boys is BS. But, you cannot get rid of stereotypes because that’s just how people think.”

Women also have less of an opportunity to be employed for higher paying jobs due to pregnancies. The amount of time dedicated to a pregnancy can often get in the way of women achieving higher education levels. Although women may sometimes not be as educationally achieved as men, Forbes states that women are actually more hardworking and smarter than men.

The anonymous source says, “I can’t say exactly that women in general are more hardworking than men, but often times when women work really hard it goes unnoticed whereas if a man works hard its a bigger deal and people recognize it more. If women were paid according to how hard they worked compared to their male counterparts, they would be paid more.”

Also, women are normally given the task of caring for children and elders without pay. This includes buying their essentials, often with their own money, and taking them to appointments, and other duties. These responsibilities often conflict with the woman’s work schedule which will lead to more used unpaid leave days, and therefore, less pay.

“It [the wage] depends on a lot of things like what job it is and seniority and stuff like that, but if they have the same job and qualifications then gender definitely shouldn’t be a factor in how much someone is paid. Women can do anything a man can (and a little bit more–like give birth) and are not less qualified for any job just because of their gender,” states the anonymous source.

Women deserve to be treated equally as men, and should not be discriminated against because of gender. Women are just as qualified as men to earn the same wages. With equal pay for women, there would be less gender discrimination and inequality. You can help earn equal pay for women by participating in marches supporting women and raising awareness in your community.