The nation of a minority

BY KATIE QUINONEZ

Maria Shriver's A Woman's Nation Changes Everything is an accurate depiction of the world and its continuous push toward gender equality.

Shriver begins the book with the chapter titled "A Woman's Nation." She begins the chapter with a description of her mother, Eunice Kennedy. A woman who already had a bit of a social background, being a member of the prominent, political family of the Kennedy's, Eunice taught her daughter that she would always have the same opportunity as boys and to never give up. Eunice greatly influenced her daughter's views on women.

One astounding statistic was women are about to account for 50% of the country's payroll for the first time in history. This is a tremendous stride for women. 40% of women were recognized as being the breadwinners of their home in 2009! This is huge in a nation where the picture perfect, all-American family was depicted as a hardworking father and a stay at home mother who never held an occupation, with the exception of clerical work in attempts to meet a husband.

Women now earn 60% of all college degrees and 50% of the Ph D's. In regard to education, the amount of women exceeds the amount of men who earn degrees! This is critical considering women are still considered a minority. If women are becoming more and more equal to men, why do they still feel underrepresented in the media? If this is now a women's nation like the report, why are they not represented?

The report delves into a 1963 report titled American Women. Th report was a product of the Commission on the Status of Women, formed by former president John F. Kennedy, Shriver's uncle. Recommendations of the report consisted of equal pay for equal work for both gender and enhanced educational opportunities for women. While women have received the latter, women still only make 70% of what a man makes. These recommendations were given almost 50 years ago! If this is a woman's nation, why are we still being treated like second-class citizens in a workforce that we make up 50% of?

This book is inspiring to women, with a hopeful message that we are advancing in society. It does however beg many questions regarding our lack of representation and the unfair treatment amongst genders, despite the fact that women account 50% of the workforce population. Women are the largest minority group in the entire world and this is their nation.