Though women make up roughly 50 percent of the workforce, they are paid almost 20 percent less than their male coworkers, as reported by the Institute for Women's Policy Research. The gender wage gap has been a topic of debate for many years now, but one sector has already achieved equal pay. Women in the U.S. military are paid the same as men in the same roles.
This is because the military offers a base salary for specific positions, and that only changes if a soldier is promoted. Previously, some might have argued that women were still at a disadvantage for equal pay, even in the military, because they were not able to advance the same way as male soldiers.
Since the Defense Secretary's announcement on Dec. 3, all combat positions are open to women. This means that those female soldiers have the same opportunities for promotion as every other servicemember. In addition to this historic change, the fact that the military must report the predetermined pay grades publicly means that female soldiers will be less likely to experience pay discrimination, according to Quartz.
The military is far from perfect in gender equality, but they offer a solid platform for more equal pay.