In 1963, the Equal Pay Act equalized pay between men and women by law, but did not apply to many types of employment such as administrators, professionals, and executives. The following year, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on gender (and race), in conjunction with the creation of the Equal

Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to enforce employment rights and redress violations of law in that regard.

Homophobia, Limitations of Equality, and Room for Future Improvement:

Today, American women enjoy most of the same rights and privileges and men, although certain inequalities still persist. In a practical sense, female wages still lag substantially behind many of their male counterparts in wages in non-regulated employment areas. One of the areas in which civil rights and privileges still reflect considerable inequality is in the realm of same-sex unions....

While some states recognize the equality of same-sex couples and provide equal protection to homosexuals in matters
of discrimination in housing, employment, and traditional spousal rights, most states still do not treat same-sex relationships the same as heterosexual couples.

Given the apparent social trends in contemporary American culture, it seems likely that the remaining inequalities will eventually be resolved, just as were the major issues of social inequality that affected women during (and before) the 20th century. One hopes that by the end of this century, students studying American social history will regard all current forms of remaining social inequality and discrimination against same-sex couples as growing pains of a more modern society much the same as today's students recall previous examples of social inequality such as American slavery, institutionalized racism, and sexism.