Dear Future President,

In 2015 female full-time workers made only 80 cents for every dollar earned by men. Many people consider the wage gap completely unfair. We need a country where there is equality between the sexes.

It will take 43 years for equality in pay to happen if we don’t do anything soon. According to research done by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, “if change continues at the same slow pace as it has done for the past fifty years, it will take until 2059 for women to finally reach pay parity.” It will take way too long for women and men to be treated as equals and I sure don’t want to live in a place where I feel less superior to men.

In certain occupations men make an extreme amount of more money than women. Take a education administrator for example. “Women’s median weekly earnings are $1,061 while men’s is $1,532.” (ThinkProgress) That’s $471 that mothers could be spending for her or her children to have food, and shelter. Especially single mothers who do not have a significant other to help out with all the costs.

As women grow, the gap grows with them. “Women typically earn about 90 percent of what men are paid until they hit 35. After that median earnings for women are typically 76–81 percent of what men are paid.” (American Association of University Women) As women age they get paid less and less compared to men. For some people it gets more difficult to work as you age, so the wage shouldn’t drop.

Women should not be paid less than any man just because of her gender. Yes, women need to gain more negotiation skills to help them make more money. They also need to persuade and convince their employers they deserve a pay raise. But this isn’t all on them. Everyone needs to become aware of the importance of female workers. The unreasonable wage gap needs to be put to a stop. Something needs to be done to accomplish equality.

Sincerely,

Chloe G.