On April 20, 2010, United States President Barack Obama issued a proclamation declaring National Equal Pay Day. In the proclamation it was recognized that despite years of progress in the workforce, women are still not paid as much as men. The proclamation states: Throughout our Nation's history, extraordinary women have broken barriers to achieve their dreams and blazed trails so their daughters would not face similar obstacles. Despite decades of progress, pay inequity still hinders women and their families across our country. National Pay Day symbolizes the day when an American woman's earnings finally match what an average American man earned in the year. Today, we renew our commitment to end wage discrimination and celebrate the strength and vibrancy women add to our economy. The proclamation emphasized, "Nearly half of all working Americans are women, yet they earn only about 80 cents for every dollar men earn. This gap increases among minority women and those with disabilities." While the proclamation is meant to be symbolic in nature, the research question, which must be asked, is: Will the status of women in the workforce improve? In order to provide analysis and an answer to the question, one must examine the history of women in the workforce, the plight of women in the university, and the effect of women's roles on society. (Contains 43 footnotes.)