March 8 of each year marks International Women's Day. It aims to show respect, appreciation and love towards women, and also to pay tribute to women around the world for their economic, political and social achievements. During World War I and World War II, women proved themselves to be a force to be reckoned with as they were able to keep the economy running while men were at war. At that time, women worked in all kinds of jobs that were only available to men; which was unheard of at that time. The consequence for the same work was very low pay. It was not until the passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that workplace rights were recognized. The law states that employers cannot discriminate against people on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The importance of this law prohibited employers from firing qualified women for vacant positions. A year earlier, President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963. The law was intended to require employers to pay women the same amount as a man in the same position. Today, however, in the workplace, women still have one gender. inequality gap compared to their male counterparts. Women now have the power to sue their employers if they can prove that a man in the same position earns a higher salary. Gender inequality is defined as the disparity in power status and prestige between people who identify as women and men. According to the most recent U.S. Census statistics, women earn only 77 percent of what men earn for the same amount of work. In 2013 alone, there were only 23 female CEOs at Fortune 500 companies; accounting for just 4.6 percent of Fortune 500 companies. For decades, women have fought to stand alongside men in the workplace...... middle of paper...... increasingly popular in the last two years. Educated women are now making their own rules by starting their own business instead of working for one. Over the past decade, the number of private businesses started by women in the United States has grown twice as fast as the number of businesses owned by men. Women-owned businesses employ more people than the largest 500 companies combined. Today, women still live in a man's world. Although women have made great strides in the workplace; Wage increases are coming at a slow pace, especially given that more women than ever are educated. With reference to The Gender Wage Gap: 2012 by Ariane Hegewisch, Claudia Williams; if the rate of change in the annual earnings ratio continues at the same level as since 1960, it will take another 45 years, or until 2058, for men and women to be equal in terms of wages..