True gender equality starts with splitting the check.

I am going to expound upon a serious inequality in our society: the unfair expectations for men.

Yes, you read correctly.

Men and women are far from equal. As of 2013, women were paid 84 cents for every dollar that a white man makes according to the Pew Research Center. In addition, women pay more for health care, are underrepresented in fields such as engineering and are burdened with the traditional roles of the past.

But, it is important to bear in mind that the antiquated viewpoint that pays women less than men and restricts their reproductive rights is the same viewpoint that tells men that they need to pay for the entire date and act as the leader of the family. I do not take kindly to either side.

Gender equality means equality in all aspects – including ones that we may not like – and this includes the way that men and women are expected to treat each other.

Why is it that we demand to be paid the same for the same work but judge the man if he wants to split the check?

I understand that I am not speaking on behalf of all women when I argue this. In 2013, researchers at the American Sociological Association presented a study that found that 58 percent of women say that men should pay for any entertainment on dates.

According to the same study, though 57 percent of women had offered to contribute some money to pay for the date ­–39 percent hoped that the men would not accept it.

It could be argued that this is simply a polite custom in our society, but women cannot rationally argue that they should receive economic equality in the workplace and maintain financial inequality outside of the office –  non sequitur. Moreover, it is not a good trend that a man must pay for the entire date to prove his masculinity. Having an amiable personality and a sense of humor would suffice for me.

But footing the bill for a date is a generally innocuous example. Many are far more harmful.

According to analysis from the Pew Research Center, women are the breadwinners in roughly four in ten American households with children as of 2013. Somewhat unsurprisingly, a sizable chunk of America is uncomfortable with with this.

In a related Pew Research study, 28 percent of respondents believed that it is better for the marriage if the husband, rather than the wife, is the breadwinner of the family. While 79 percent of respondents agreed that women should not assume the traditional roles of the past, that logically leaves 21 percent of the population that thinks women should go back to the kitchen.

Now, this is not to say that women should feel compelled to live out the modern, workingwoman standard. Many of us have stay-at-home mothers, and I myself am indebted to my own mother, who chose to stay home for several years and raise me. However, if parents decide that one spouse should stay home and take care of the children, the decision should be based on personal choice, and certainly not be based on the roles of the past – and just to be clear, stay-at-home moms and dads are not, in any way, any less than their out-of-home spouses.

Much of achieving gender equality is on the women’s side: equal pay, reproductive rights and fixing the expectation that women must do the cooking and the cleaning. But, we must also pay attention to where gender inequality affects men: no paid paternity leave, lack of acceptance for stay-at-home dads, and the fact that women often expect men to foot the bill for dinner. Equality under the law simply is not enough to do that.

All told, gender equality means equality in every aspect of life. I do not believe that our society can achieve this without throwing away our traditional expectations of men, just as we must do the same with our traditional expectations of women. Undeniably, this process will take years, if not decades. But true gender equality is worth the trouble of overcoming our antiquated ideas.

This is the future that I want for myself, and having to split the check is a miniscule price to pay for that future.