We, the students of Emerson College, call on those who believe in human rights and civil justice to sign this petition to call on the federal representatives to enforce the principles of the 1964 Civil Rights Act of Equal Employment Opportunity. According to the National Committee for Pay Equity, in 2004 women were making 80.4% of wages as men in the same position on a weekly basis, and the pay discrepancy for minority women was as low as 58.8% for some nationalities. Currently, the Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments on the employment discrimination case, Walmart v. Dukes, a class suit involving 1.5 million women who have experienced pay discrepancies and blatant sexism. Employment discrimination is still a large problem today, and not just for women. According to the wording of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, it is legal to fire a GLBTQ worker on the premise of their sexual orientation, since homosexuals and transgender people are not a protected class. Also in recent studies, Black and Hispanic men with college degrees have been shown to earn 30% less a year than the average white man. Although many corporations try to adopt affirmative action policies to protect against the discrimination in hiring and to promote diversity, the public views affirmative action as a negative action that leads to unqualified workers. In a 2009 poll by The Economist, 42% of people opposed corporate affirmative actions. In addition, the Massachusetts state legislature is debating the passage of a Transgender Equal Rights Bill to combat the major discrimination in employment. By signing this petition, you are saying that you as an active voter want to see more legislation and a greater enforcement of employment rights for women and minorities. Your signature is a formal way of asking your representatives to propose congressional orders to secure and enforce employment rights regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, and/or religion.