Dear Mr. or Mrs. President,

I am writing to you today about an important issue in America’s society that I would like to see solved in the next 4 years. I think that the wage gap is a major issue considering that it is not representing the equality that America stands for. The wage gap should be closed because it is frankly sexist and unjust and feeds into the systematic oppression of women and how they've been viewed as less than a man for centuries. Some people believe that the wage gap doesn’t exist and women choose to be paid less, which is very untrue. The wage gap in America is felt by some and acknowledged by many, but nobody understands the actual makeup of the issue. The wage gap is not based on what job you take or the amount of money you get by the hour, it boils down to your gender. Women get ripped off by the government doing the same work as men for the same amount of hours. The National Women’s Law Center states that, “Women in the U.S. who work full time, year round are typically paid only 80 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts.” If a man works 8 hours for 6 days a week earning 12 dollars an hour, he makes $576 a month. Over a year, that same man makes $27,648 while a woman working the same job as him with the same amount of hours, earns $22,809.60. That is a wage gap of more than 17 percent which is unacceptable.

Over the course of history, women have been disrespected and cheated out of their money. They are seen as a source for creating life and have been depicted as intellectually inferior to men. A woman has always been seen as lesser than a man, even when doing the same and sometimes more work than him, in the workforce. Women were the symbol of “domestic” house work over the years. Men over centuries have had the ignorant mindset that “a woman’s place is in the home” which most likely created the wage gap initially. Deprived of education and a chance to work, women have been submissive to men for hundreds of years and I personally think the wage gap is lawmakers trying to keep it that way.

The history of women in the workforce is infuriating. In 1843, the United States, allowed married women allowed to own and manage property in their own name during the incapacity of their spouse. This basically states that a woman can manage her own assets when her husband can not. Bebusinessed.com states that, “In the U.S. Civil War 600,000 American men died and hundreds of thousands more were injured changing the role of women in the workforce considerably.” Women were forced to enter the labor force in increasing numbers simply to fill factories and work other jobs. The WTUL and similar movements improved the plight of women across America. Unfortunately, the predicament women were placed in was once again set back in the Great Depression of the 1930s. In 1964, the United States: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination by covered employers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

Despite the fact that many people say that women take jobs less challenging because “they don't want to get paid as much”, but that is anything but true. Breitbart.com says, “Women usually strive for a more balanced life than men, which is why they work fewer hours, take longer holidays and earn less for their companies, so being given the freedom to raise a family is a chance most women would jump at.” I do not agree with this point because many women are single and financially stable throughout their life. It is very offensive to clump women into a category that represents instability and exploiting people for their own use.

The Huffington post said, “If we do nothing, women won’t see pay equity with men until 2058.” The 42 year gap between now and then is unacceptable. The wage gap should be closed as soon as possible to give equality to all in the form of payment. Women deserve their fair chance of payment and I think that the 2017 president should be the person to change the oppression of women over centuries.

Sincerely,

DT