In 1901 a reporter asked Teddy Roosevelt, “Did you know it's been predicted that in 100 years, women will rule the world?” He replied, “Still?”

2001 is long past, however we still have a long way to go before it is generally accepted that women can lead the world. Prejudice against women is holding us back. Sex discrimination is everywhere. Did you know that, according to the American Institute on Domestic Violence, a woman in the United States is beaten every nine seconds? Or on average, more than three women are murdered by their domestic partners every day?

These horrifying facts are only the beginning of women's added hardships – they continue at work. A male employer is 20 percent more likely to give a higher-paying job to a man over a woman. There are 10 million single mothers with an unsustainable job. These details seem small in comparison to rape and murder, but they are just as important; both violence at home and discrimination in the workplace are affecting the future of society and need to be addressed.

Violence against women is often the topic of criminal justice shows and the news on TV. Some women are abused simply because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time, but the sad fact is that most are abused by someone close to them – a husband, boyfriend, father, or brother. According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, which includes crimes not reported to the police, 232,960 women in the U.S. were raped or sexually assaulted in 2006. That's more than 600 per day! Less than 20 percent of the victims sought medical treatment or reported their assault. This means that women are being abused due to aggressive relationships that they either do not want to leave or are unable leave.

Income and race are both factors when it comes to domestic violence. Although the place of a woman in certain cultures plays a role, the main factor is financial. The less income a household generates, the higher the chance a woman will be beaten or raped by a male counterpart.

Gender discrimination in the workplace, then, has an overall effect on abuse of women. Women are often denied jobs or are paid less simply because they are females. Many anti-feminists will argue that the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (which requires men and women doing the same jobs to receive the same pay for the same amount of work) has changed things. However, even that law did not fix the problem. In 1963 women were paid just 59 cents for every dollar men received. In 2007, 44 years later, the average woman's paycheck still reflected only 78 cents for every dollar paid to a man working the same amount of time and doing the same type of work. When women are denied jobs or paid less than men, it contributes to the violation of women everywhere.

Discrimination corners women from two sides – at work and at home. Economics has an impact on domestic abuse, which creates a vicious cycle that can only be broken when society becomes more accepting of powerful women. With a new age on the horizon, new morals must be adopted. If the time is right for 3-D television, why not a female president? Once women are viewed as equal to men in all respects, we will finally achieve the respect we deserve. It is time for change. It is time to stand up to the man.