Females currently have equal or greater opportunities for success in the United States than males.

CONTENTION ONE: THE GENDER PAY GAP IN THE UNITED STATES The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that females in the U. S. on average currently earn 81.2% of male earnings [1]. The Joint Economic Committee states that the gender pay gap persists across all occupations, such as physicians and surgeons (64.4%), salespersons (70.6%), truck drivers (76.4%), attorneys (80.5%), and management personnel [2]. A recent Government Accountability Office study, accounting for a wide variety of observable differences between male and female management personnel, found that female management personnel on average earn 81% of male earnings [2]. The Joint Economic Committee states that the gender pay gap persists across all educational levels [2]. The gender pay gap cannot be attributed solely to familial responsibilities, because a recent Government Accountability report found that management personnel who are mothers earn 79% of management personnel who are fathers [2]. (Furthermore, even if the gender pay gap can be attributed in part to familial responsibilities, the fact that females currently perform 66% of household tasks [3] is merely another example of male privilege. ) Part-time jobs exacerbate the problem, because female part-time workers earn only 58% of male part- time workers [2]. The gender pay gap results in part due to the lower average wages of professions that females are employed in [4]; however, (a) the pay gap persists accross occupations, as mentioned, and (b) the skewed representation of females in certain professions results from institutional bias against females in those professions [4]. At all levels, a promotion bias of 2:1 exists for males [3]. Females advance slowly in male-dominated fields [3], while males advance quickly in female-dominated fields [3]. Females that more aggressively pursue better pay or career advancement are discriminated against [3], which helps prevent changes to this status quo. Clearly, the gender pay gap exists and is caused, at least in part, by institutional bias against females. CONTENTION TWO: SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES Sexual violence affects both males and females. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that 18.3% (1 in 5) of females have been unconsensually penetrated or recieved an unconsensual penetration attempt, compared to 1.4% (1 in 71) of males [5]; furthermore, 4.8% (1 in 21) of males reported that they were made to penetrate someone else during their lifetime [5]; furthermore, an estimated 13% in of females and 6% of males have experienced sexual coercion in their lifetime and 27.2% of females and 11.7% of males have experienced unwanted sexual contact [5]. 16.2% (1 in 6) of females and 5.2% (1 in 19) of males have experienced stalking victimization in their lifetime [5]. 35.6% (1 in 3) of females and 28.5% (1 in 4) males have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Sexual violence is a massive issue and should not be downplayed. However, sexual violence is statistically more significant for females than for males, especially for more violent and invasive forms of sexual violence. Females, however, are under-served by our justice system. Institutional bias against females in court exists [6]. "Examples of bias cited included divorce settlements that award insignificant support payments to older women who have been out of the workplace raising a family, judges and prosecutors who do not take rape charges seriously when they involve a woman`s acquaintance, court clerks who refuse to help women fill out the forms needed to obtain court protection in cases of domestic violence, and male attorneys who make sexist or demeaning remarks to their female colleagues. . .. . 57 percent of the female attorneys responding to the survey reported that they had experienced derogatory remarks by male lawyers in the preceding year, as well as behavior that was 'simply dismissive of female counsel, such as refusing to acknowledge her presence, interrupting her presentation or monopolizing the physical area in front of the bench. ' " [6]. Jurors tend to discount rape when the rape victim does not conform to what a stereotypical rape victim "should" be [7]. Because many persons who are raped are female and do not fit the stereotype, their rapist is determined as innocent. This plays into slut- shaming and victim-blaming in rape, which also dispropportionately affect females [8]. No laws currently exist to help prevent gender-based crimes against females [9]. If that isn't bad enough, in 31 states, rapists may sue for custody over the child, which inherently hurts only females [10]. Clearly, the justice system is biased against rectifying sexual violence against women, which is caused, at least in part, by institutional bias against females. SUMMARY The gender pay gap and sexual violence are institutional flaws in the way that the United States treats females. REFERENCES [1] bls. gov/cps/wlf-databook-2011. pdf (p. 52) [2] jec. senate. gov/public/? a=Files. Serve&File_id=9118a9ef-0771-4777-9c1f-8232fe70a45c (p. 9-11) [3] gender-competence. eu/files/IntConf/5. pdf (p. 6-7, 11) [4] iwpr. org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination [5] cdc. gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs_report2010-a. pdf [6] articles. chicagotribune. com/19 90-07-24/news/9003020299_1_gender-bias-illinois-supreme-court-judges [7] jiv. sagepub. com/content/29/12/ 2273. abstract [8] windsorindependent. com/slut-shaming-victim-blaming-rape-culture-todays-world/ [9] civilrights. org/publications /hatecrimes/women. html [10] 31states. com/