When the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that a woman would join Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill, the reaction from Americans was half joy and half "meh."
Many were disappointed that the Treasury hadn't listened fully to the Woman On 20s campaign that had polled users to support Harriet Tubman displacing Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. And as "The Daily Show's" Jessica Williams pointed out, Hamilton won't even leave the bill -- instead he'll be a "chaperone" for the chosen woman.
Putting a woman on currency doesn't make the United States a pioneer. When a lady's face finally shows up on your $10, the U.S. will join a league of developed countries that have put a woman on just one bill. Other countries, like Sweden, have gone a step further. The country will soon have 50/50 gender representation on printed notes.
The Treasury hasn't decided yet which American woman will join Hamilton. They are asking Americans to vote by using #TheNew10 on social media. So far, icons like Harriet Tubman, Eleanor Roosevelt, Susan B. Anthony and Rosa Parks have all been looked at as possibilities for the new $10 bill. In other countries, authors and poets are popular figureheads for currency, along with women in the arts and entertainment.
A lot more than the faces on our currency will have to change before the economic playing field is leveled for men and women. But seeing a woman on a $10 dollar bill is a good place to start.