With the gender pay gap still at large and sexism running rampant throughout many workplaces in the United States, it's a wonder that anyone can deem feminism an unworthy pursuit.

Gender clearly pervades many components of the workforce, often leaving women frustrated with their bosses and their jobs.

It certainly doesn't help that as a society, we have a tendency to gender entire professions. And the fields we decide belong to women are consequently assigned less value than those dominated by men.

Even if those disciplines are crucial to keeping our communities functional.

And after we place those "women's professions" at the bottom of the totem pole, we begin to normalize the lack of compensation and respect they receive.

Teachers are the prime example of this phenomenon. When picturing educators, many minds jump immediately to women. After all, about 77 percent of teachers are female.

Teachers are also historically known for being underpaid, particularly given the amount of debt they often accrue attaining their certifications.

In addition to being paid less, teachers are often forced to spend their own funds on classroom supplies. And even after putting in all this effort, teachers are bombarded with criticism about nearly everything they do.

This lack of regard for teachers is astounding, particularly when one considers how essential education is to ensure that each generation is capable of contributing to society.

But teaching is far from the only profession that falls into this category. Female social workers outnumber their male counterparts, leading many to believe social work is primarily a women's field as well.

Having that stigma, social workers tend to suffer similar setbacks to teachers. They're regularly forced to work long hours, required to be on call and expected to drop everything to handle crisis situations.

Given the lack of work-life balance, many of them feel that they're grossly underpaid.

It's a shame, especially considering that social work is another vital field when it comes to preserving a healthy society. We need them to aid the ever-increasing mentally ill population, yet we refuse to acknowledge their importance.

These are merely two examples of how gendering occupations stigmatize and diminish them, though one can look to home health aides, administrators and librarians as other models of this pattern.

Even nurses, who are on the higher end of the pay spectrum, feel their salaries don't match their substantial workloads.

While some might roll their eyes at such complaints, they should consider the fact that our society is more than willing meet high pay demands when it comes to male-dominated professions.

Positions in the financial and technological spheres typically make far greater salaries than even nurses, and they aren't saving lives on the daily.

That's not to say that such occupations aren't necessary. These fields make immensely important contributions to society too, but there's no reason they should overshadow any of the disciplines listed above.

Yet, they continue to do so, and people continue to blindly accept it. It needs to end.

We need to take a stand for the undervalued professions, especially the ones that are primarily filled by women. In the year 2018, there is absolutely no reason such significant jobs should be gendered and judged unworthy of fair treatment.