Women don’t get paid equally to men. Regardless of gender, people should not be discriminated against.

As a woman in college, I know that even after I graduate I would still be getting paid less than a man with the exact same qualifications that I have. This raises the question as to why I would invest my time in college and not get paid equally for the work I would provide.

More than $37 billion is lost in total annual income for women nationally, according to a document released in 2014 about american families and work, by the Executive Office of the President of the United States.

U.S. Senate Bill 358 is intended to close the pay gap and prohibit businesses from paying women less than their male colleagues; SB 358 was signed Tuesday by Governor Jerry Brown, according to The Los Angeles Times.

This is just another step closer towards gender equality, but we still have a long way to go.

Historically, women have struggled with issues that have stretched far beyond just the workforce. In the last century women have challenged the very system of which they’d been discriminated, and have gained the right to vote, serve as federal judges and in combat roles within the military, and so on.

As a society, we need to continue empowering those around us to push towards equality. The workforce is only one of the many that can be solved.

By the age of 24, I will be graduating with my bachelor’s degree. With the knowledge and experiences I will have gained, I do not want to be paid less than my male colleagues and I refuse to work for companies that won’t give me equal pay.

Thirty-three percent of women are more likely than men to earn a college degree by the age of 27, according to a 2014 survey released by Cybercast News Service, a division of media research center.

If more women demanded for more raises and promotions, then they possibly could be getting paid just as much as their male colleagues.

Many women are hesitant to dictate what they want because they fear rejection. But, if we don’t demand we’re settling for less.

Research shows that men roughly negotiate for raises in their industry four times more likely than women, according to the EOP.

In addition to gender inequality issues in the workplace, some women are also forced to deal with racial discrimination.

Women get paid 82 cents for every dollar that men earn and women of color are often paid less, according to the American Association of University Women.

As a single parent my mother raised me and my siblings, and it was far from easy. There were times when we couldn’t afford certain necessities or pay the bills on time.

Today, I see so many other women falling into those same circumstances.

Forty percent of mothers are now the primary source of income for their families and two-thirds are single moms, according to the EOP.

As women we have the same abilities as our male counterparts, and this is what we need to believe. If we don’t believe that we’re equal to men, how are they going to?

With SB 358, women are given a fair chance at equal wages, and this will represent yet another victory for gender equality.

Like men, women can and will also be the breadwinners.