Why Women Don't Have Sufficient Pocket Space

According to msn.com, the issue of pocket inequality dates back centuries, when the presence of the handy little pants-pouches first occurred in the mid-to-late 1800s in men's clothing. Their site credits journalist Chelsea Summers for stating "the less women could carry, the less freedom they had," suggesting that the ability to carry items on one's person without any sort of tote was a representation of freedom at this time, which just so happens to be when the fight for women's suffrage was most prevalent.

Significant also is that, in order to carry anything without pockets, women would have to invest in handbags or clutches, thus feeding the fashion industry with more cash when the solution could've just been an extra 4x5 inches of fabric and a couple stitches. To implore the question why suffer the expense of making expensive handbags and gauging their prices into the thousands or more, in the place of such a simple solution? is certainly reasonable.

The Huffington Post provides some shocking statistics on their website on gender inequality in the U.S., predicting that it's unlikely for women to have equal pay within the lifetime of the Millennial generation. Check it out:

• "In just about every state in the country, Millennial women are more likely than Millennial men to have a college degree, yet Millennial women also have higher poverty rates and lower earnings than Millennial men.
• Although more women are receiving high school diplomas and completing college than ever before, a considerable proportion of women either do not graduate high school or finish their education with only a high school diploma.
• By the time a college-educated woman turns 59, she will have lost almost $800,000 throughout her life due to the gender wage gap."

It also states that the levels of inequality vary based on geographical, familial, and racial statuses. A woman's income is directly related to her family of origin's income—that is, the amount that her parents make and their social/financial status. Women in the south of the U.S. are worse off, their percentage of equality is lower, and Hispanic women have a higher level of poverty than other female races.

So... as a woman of the Millennial generation in college who's living in the south, these are some pretty daunting trends. It leaves a young woman to wonder, what ever could a helpless, pocketless woman like myself do? Elite Daily has some solutions for our generation to try and close the gap more quickly (that's right boys, you too!). The first step is to have a voice and an opinion, to not be afraid to represent your beliefs. If you're in college, there are tons of feminist public speakers who fight for gender equality, freedom walks, and groups/organizations you can join. If you're not as social, there are tons of online sites that promote equality, have online petitions, and provide resources to learn more about it. You can also support companies that take a stance and recognize strong female and male leads, to promote that equality that we're missing.

My first job was at a deli and, let me tell you, this place was crawling with gender inequality. There were three different positions available at this place; you could work in the "front of house," "back of house," or in management. Well, apparently there were some qualifications that needed to be met to work in anything but the lowest paying job (FOH) and that was a penis. I mean, I could've tried to fake it, but let's be real, it was totally unfair that only men were allowed to work in the back of house or manage. The owners would never admit to this; they'd simply state they couldn't find any women at the time who exhibited the characteristics required for those positions. I soon mastered the FOH, which was just serving food, taking orders, and doing dishes or other cleaning chores. After months of proving myself and begging to be cross-trained, I was thrown onto the line out of nowhere, almost as if it were a joke, just to overwhelm me and get me to stop trying. The joke was on them, though, because I quickly excelled and learned each position in the back, slowly working my way to the top. I was later offered the management position (they had to wait until I turned 18 to give it to me), and I ended up leaving about a year later for some other sexist issues, but there you have it. Gender inequality and the assumption that we're the weaker sex at its finest.

Have you experienced the effects of gender inequality, or maybe you have an experience of gender equality? Please message me directly with any questions or concerns, and let me know anything else you'd like for me to write about! My personal email is: [email protected]

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