Cato R. New York

Gender Pay Gaps

The gender pay gap is a big problem. Women are getting paid less than men. Although this problem is getting better, it is not good enough. Everyone should get equal pay.

Dear Future President,

           I can’t stand the wage gaps between men and women. Why do women get less pay than men? They work the same jobs as men but can’t seem to earn the same amount. Both genders, men and women, see inequalities in the workplace. About 77% of women and 63% of men said that our country needs to work harder on women’s pay equality, according to the Pew Research Center Survey last fall. Luke Graham in a CNBC article said: “This is a man’s world: Wage gap for mothers can reach up to 33%. Another study from August 2016, included a diagram from the Office for National Statistics showing that men earn 6.5% more than women". Also, the gap between what a man and woman earns widens for the 12 years after childbirth, reaching the point where a woman is paid 33 percent less per hour than a man. It is almost like women are punished for having children. A lot of people say that it is only women who care about what they are earning compared to men, but studies show that a lot of men, including myself, agree that the wage gap between women and men is unfair and inappropriate.

             The United States women's soccer team earned roughly a quarter of what the men’s soccer team made last year. “It’s not that women are choosing less skilled jobs, it is just that the employees are deciding to pay women less” as said by Catherine Pearson for Huffington Post.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Fortunately my mother does not suffer from lower wages and I believe everyone should be lucky like her. My point is that who we are, or what gender we are, what we look like should not influence how much we get paid or if we will get employed or not. Only our actions should determine our wages.

I appreciate your service to our country.

Cato R.

Sources:

Graham, Luke. "This Is a Man’s World: Wage Gap for Mothers Can Reach 33%, Study Finds."CNBC. CNBC, 23 Aug. 2016. Web. 14 Nov. 2016. <http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/23/this-is-a-mans-world-wage-gap-for-mothers-can-reach-33-study-finds.html>.

Patten, Eileen. "On Equal Pay Day, Key Facts about the Gender Pay Gap." Pew Research Center RSS. Pew Research Center, 14 Apr. 2015. Web. 14 Nov. 2016. <http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/04/14/on-equal-pay-day-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-gender-pay-gap/>.

NYC Lab Middle School

NYC Lab Middle School

Lab students have been painfully subjected to three debates where they searched for policy talk. Four and a half hours later.. Now, our students will have the chance to speak about an issue of importance and possibly make a recommendation for improvement.

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