I recently read an article about the parents and grandparents of a high school's softball and volleyball teams suing the school because the girls were not being treated the same as the boys' sports teams. The people are accusing the school of providing the teams with inadequate funds for equipment and uniforms. They also stated that while the baseball field is located adjacent to the high school, the softball team has to play at a city-owned field and does not have access to a locker room.

It is a shame that these girls have not been treated fairly.

I too, experienced the same thing when I was in high school. Our softball team and all of the rest of the girls' sports always played second fiddle to the boys. My school started a football program and built a whole new field with new lights and a sound system while my softball team, which was there long before the football program, had to cut games short because it was too dark to see, and we didn't have lights.

Even though I am in college now, I still experience double standards.

This semester, My peers and I have been working on our e-portfolios which are basically digital resumes. These websites are supposed to contain examples of our work that we have done, other sections such as volunteer work, and explain who we are. They are supposed to give potential employees a sense of who we are, and the work we are capable of doing. I decided to include pictures of me hiking and kayaking, including the one above, because they are some of my favorite things to do and help to explain a lot about me. In many of these pictures, I have shorts on because it is hot in just about every season except for winter in Alabama.

My professor told me I should change these pictures because they were not professional enough.

But when some of the guys in my class had pictures with them in shorts on their e-portfolios, she did not say a word to them about it. I could understand if it had not been a professional picture because you could not see my face or because my back was turned and you could see my butt, but her only reason was that I had shorts on.

Now before I go any further, I would like to explain something. I am not a feminist.

I still believe that guys should open doors for girls, be the one to ask for a date first and that men are supposed to be heads and protectors of the household, but I also believe that women should be treated fairly and equally to men. Women make 77 cents to every dollar a man makes, and for women of color, the gap is even larger. Even as registered nurses, one of the most popular jobs for women, women make about $6,000 less than men on average.

I once heard that God did not take a piece of Adam's foot to make Eve, so he could not step on her. He did not take a piece of his head, so she would not be superior to Him. He took one of Adam's ribs from his side, so Eve would be equal to him. God also did this, so Adam could put his arm around her to protect her.

It is the man's job to be the protector, but it takes both working together as equals to accomplish goals.

"So in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male nor female, for you are all one in Christ." — Galatians 3:26-28

We are members of the same family and all have equal importance. Being together as one does not rob us of our uniqueness. Women and men both have special God-given gifts and traits that make us unique. Men are protectors, and women are nurturers. Women tend to be emotional and men are more logical. It is these differences that make us all important and why we need to learn to function as one and help one another.

"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ..." — Corinthians 12:12, 17-18

If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be." We have to learn to work together like the parts of the body. Each organ, bone, and limb has a unique job that is essential to the function of everything else. It doesn't matter if a person is an eye, heart, or big toe, each one, male or female, has a job that is important.

If women are kept down and not allowed to work and rise up like men, the body of society will not be able to function properly.

We need everyone, male and female, in order to solve the disparities of today's world. If we can not learn to work together, we will never be able to change male/female inequality or much less anything else.

So, give women a chance. Let us show you that we are just as capable as a man, the job just might need a woman's unique perspective. As long as we push each other down and dominate each other, the gap between men and women will never close.