Itza Garzon                                                                      Prof Brielle Buckler

Bus 311-1900

Equal Opportunity and The Law

After watching the Film and our lecture one thing really stands out to me and that is that although we have come a long way, we still have so much more work to do. Ruth Ginsburg from the film On the Basis of Sex really stood out to me, for many reasons she reminds me a lot of myself or at least the type of woman I want to be. When asked in the beginning of the film why she is the place of where a man could be, she mocks the dean and that made me go wow! The other woman were trying to say the perfect thing however she knew nothing would be good enough for him. She did not want to be your “normal” woman who was supposed to stay home and cook and clean and be the caregiver to her husband and child and she made that very clear from the start.

Being a woman is already hard as it is, now being a woman in a place where your male counterpart is more dominant well that just makes it that much harder. While it was hard, she continuously challenged her male classmates and higher ups knowing that not many would take her serious because she was in a male dominated industry. She pushed and strived overcame the obstacles along the way but made her voice be heard. It is hard to not give up when you aren’t taken seriously but she did not let that get the better of her .

I’m sure at one point or another we have all felt some sort of discrimination just because we are women, now this is not to say that men don’t go through it as well but it is less likely. As I stated before we still have such a long way to go. As a woman sometimes we have to think a little more about what we wear not because of the appearance but because of what others may portray by it. What do I mean by this, well its simple Women till this day are still being sexualized, not only in the workplace but out in the street, in school etc. There are many more policies in place for sure especially in the workplace such as dress code , and hotlines you can call if you feel unsafe but just the fact that there has to be a specific dress code so that a woman doesn’t get sexualized is mind boggling to me. No one should feel like they can’t wear something because it may cause someone to do something. Employees should feel safe in their work environment .

Equal Pay is another part of Gender Equality and where we are at now , although women are still only making 70% of what men make we’ve come far. As a woman to me this is something that we need to continue to work on. A woman can do the same job that a man can and to think that we are getting paid less for putting just as much effort if not more than a man is and should be upsetting.

Our system needs to continue to be worked on, however what Ruth did has shaped and continues to shape the Equal Gender legislation. For a woman to be able to work in a place where 100 years ago we would’ve been frown upon is a big step in the right direction. She paved the way to a better future for women, Minorities, our future children. All in all what she set herself to do was accomplished and that is open the door for a future where both men and women can be seen as equals.