Recently, there has been controversy over whether or not a woman should be featured on a U.S. bill. Already, petitions supporting the face of a woman on U.S currency have been created. Some say that women on the face of money will be one step closer towards gender equality.

This past July, the Treasurer of The United States, Rosie Rios, officially declared that a woman will be the face of the $10 bill during the celebration of the 100 year anniversary of women’s suffrage. The criteria to be on the bill is that the a woman featured must be of significance to the United States and is deceased. Although the new face of the $10 bill has not been chosen, the prospective women are Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman.

Some people wanted to feature a woman on the $20 bill instead of the $10 bill because the lower value of the $10 bill could mean women are inferior . They argue that if a woman were to be put on U.S. currency, it should be on the highest value bill to give them more representation and a higher status.

But the reason why a woman deserves to be on the $20 bill should not be because of the value, but rather because of the current historical figure on the $20 bill. Andrew Jackson, the face of the $20 bill, should not stay on the  bill because he was the cause of the Trail of Tears, which displaced and ended the lives of countless Native Americans and was also a slave owner. Due to the atrocities Jackson was responsible for, people believe that he should not be on U.S. currency, and agree that a woman is far more deserving. If a woman were to be placed on the $10 bill, Alexander Hamilton, the face of this bill, would be removed. Hamilton does not deserve to be taken off of the bill since he has contributed significantly to our country; Hamilton created the first Bank of the United States, which served as a model for future banks and economic practices of our nation.

“If we were to change Alexander Hamilton, I personally believe that someone who has influenced and changed our nation should be placed on the $10 bill regardless if they are male or female,” sophomore Melanie Wu said.

Most people are simply grateful that a woman will finally be featured on U.S. currency. By placing a female historical figure on a bill, the U.S. will be taking one step closer towards gender equality.