Say what you will about Vice President Kamala Harris and her failed bid to become the next president of the United States, whether it was about the economy, immigration or just returning former President Donald Trump to office, here’s something it most decidedly was not: a novel experience. We’re not just talking about how the only other woman to win a party’s nomination for president, Democrat Hillary Clinton who was bested by the same Republican candidate in 2016, but more broadly. Think about it: A qualified woman was up for a promotion and got rejected in favor of a male competitor. In the United States, that happens just about every day.

This is what’s known formally as gender discrimination in the workplace but it’s often more clearly documented in pay. Study after study shows that women in this country are paid less than men. There have been all kinds of explanations for this enduring phenomenon ranging from how women seek shorter hours (presumably for family care demands), take time off to have children or choose less well-paid professions but discrimination seems an unavoidable reality. In 1980, women earned 65 cents for every dollar earned by men. Today, it’s closer to 82 cents. That’s not much progress, although for women age 25 to 44, the gap was down to 90 cents as of 2022, according to the Pew Research Center.

And it’s not just a private sector problem. There is a glass ceiling for government jobs as well (and not just in the White House). Maryland has never had a female governor. Most states have not. Only 11% of Fortune 500 company CEOs are women. What’s especially remarkable about this is that women outnumber men in the college-educated portion of the workforce now making up 51% of those 25 years of age or older. In the 10 highest-paid professions from doctors to geological engineers, women are far more numerous today than a generation ago (although in certain jobs — like airline pilots where women represent 7% of the workforce, for example — their numbers remain modest). So why hasn’t the gap been overcome?

Here’s a theory. There’s still a lot of gender discrimination going around. It isn’t necessarily overt. Opinion surveys show a lot of people don’t believe being a woman hurts employment opportunities at all. And that is, perhaps, what can make it especially insidious. Make no mistake, young girls and boys are watching closely. Not long ago, the University of Michigan asked 12th graders about gender discrimination. Researchers found 70% of girls thought there was a “great deal” or “good deal” of discrimination against women seeking leadership positions while that was the view of just 33% of boys in 2022. What exactly would convince them otherwise in the fall of 2024?