Yesterday, I spoke with Linda Winston, the president of the New York State Business and Professional Women’s Organization, and the information she gave me was quite astounding. Eighty-eight years after the 19th amendment was passed, women are still fighting for pay equal to that of their male counterparts.

It seems archaic and outdated to think that women and men of equal intelligence are receiving varying amounts of pay for performing the same work, but according to statistics released by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, that is exactly what is happening. Their studies show that nationwide, women make only 77 percent of a man’s annual income. People try to ignore these figures by saying there must be a difference in educational levels or performance, but the facts show that every state across the country had an increase in women’s educational attainment between 2000 and 2005.

Perhaps there is a difference on a nation-wide level, between the educational levels attained by women and their male counterparts, but if there is, the issue needs to be addressed. There is no reason in this day and age that women should be less educated than men, or settle for lesser degrees of success.