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I was born with a real handicap. Not a physical or mental one, thank God. No, I was born a girl, which meant as a woman, my chances of employment are approximately 75% that of a man’s chances. According to statistics taken from the Department of Labor in 2005, 59.3% of all women were in the labor force compared to 73.3% of all men. Women made up 46.4% of the civilian labor force in 2005. I will not be considered for the top jobs. My salary will never be as high as a man’s salary. My employment opportunities are limited. Even with a completed education, I will be considered for lesser paying jobs. In my mother’s generation, women were bred to be housewives or some lucrative job, such as nurse, secretary or teacher. I followed in my mother’s footsteps and became a teacher in later life. Although I had as much education as the principal, I was never paid near him. That sucks, as I had seven years of formal college and five degrees, three of them post-graduate. I had multiple teaching certificates too. I’m not usually a whiner or complainer but this disturbs me. I have learned to deal with diversity all my life. I am the minority – a woman, strong within and bold. I feel I can do many things myself. I am not muscularly built like a man, have manly strength nor am I six feet tall, but I have power, attraction and brains. I am not a feminist or a women’s libber either. I am simply me.