forces were female, and only 14 percent of officers were female. Another example is the U.S. congress. In 2015, 80 percent of the Senate was male, and only 20 was female. This numbers were similar for the House, at 80.6 percent male and 19.4 percent female. The gender composition of the military and the government, along with the wage gap, shines a lights on the gender inequality experienced right here at home, but this inequality is more greatly felt abroad. Some countries place strict limitations on women, not allowing them to vote or work or even drive a car. While the U.S. is seen as a country of dreams and opportunity, is far easier to see this when compared to an even more unequal country. The United States has been trending toward gender equality in recent years, but it has a while to go. Research contributions An article found in the November 1998 issue of Social Problems details the conflict involving racial domination by identifying the complexity African-Americans face. In many cases, sociologists and laypersons alike are often limited in their approach to the problem. Michelle Byng, in "Mediating Discrimination: Oppression among African-American Muslim Women"—the 1998 article—brings to focus new approaches to understanding discrimination, but also, she writes to illustrate the many overlooked opportunities in which the discriminated are able to empower themselves in certain situations. Intersectionality in court cases There are countless numbers of court cases that examine intersectionality within the workforce that did not allow individuals to have equal opportunities because of their race, gender, and social class. The case, DeGraffenreid vs. General Motors, provides an example when the law does an injustice to those that face discrimination. Emma DeGraffenreid and four other black female production workers were laid off, and took it to court claiming that the company was violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because, "it perpetrated past discriminatory practices of not hiring Black females." The court looked at each of the categories, race and gender, separately therefore they missed the discrimination of a person being both African-American and female. "It was argued, black women can expect little protection as long as approaches, such as that in DeGraffenreid, which completely obscure problems of intersectionality prevail." Another case, Maivan Lam v. University of Hawai'i, where intersectionality was the core reason behind the problem that emerged. Maivan Lam was not offered a job twice