Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who stood up for the right to education and was shot by the Taliban, has started debates regarding feminism.  She received the Nobel Peace Prize on October 10th—the youngest person ever to be awarded the honor.  In comparison to Minnetonka, Malala’s world, where girls are threatened if they attempt to attend school is completely alien.  Even so, is it wrong to claim that gender inequalities in our own worlds are not as prevalent?

Myth: Feminism is not a relevant issue for US society.

Reality:

• In 2009, the average woman earned about 80% of what the average man earned. (Stanford Center)
• The percent of female managers “has risen from 35% to only 38% in the last twenty years.” (Ferro)
• Out of 190 countries, Papua New Guinea, Swaziland, and the United States offer “no legal guarantee of paid maternity leave.” (Ferro)
• 1% of the world’s land is owned by women. (The Independent)
• Of the 869 recipients of Nobel Prizes over the years, only 44 women have been named laureates. Taking into account the 22 organizations, women have won only 5% of the individual awards.

Of course, for any of these data points and facts, there are many more factors than discrimination against women.  But, they prove that there are definite points of inequality in our familiar, seemingly modern world.  Whatever the case may be, there need to be more women like Malala to help promote gender equality worldwide.