Dear Next President:

Building a wall is the solution. Your opponent’s idea is to build a wall in between the U.S. and Mexico. You should follow your opponent’s idea; however, instead of building a wall in between Mexico and the U.S., there should be a wall against sexism. The U.S. has been unjust to women and they haven’t been treated like equals. The Pew Research Center found in 2010 that women earned 84% as much as men. Society has been putting an unjust perception upon women, and it should be dealt with.

A very specific moment in which I encountered sexism was a couple of months ago during my summer internship. One day one of my supervisors gave me the task to make an adjustment to the stock cards. After my supervisor told me what words to adjust, he told me to make them look “pretty.” I thought it was funny because I didn’t think he was serious, but then I saw that he wasn’t joking. If I were to have been a male intern he wouldn’t have told me to make them look “pretty,” he would have probably told me to make them accurate. The stock cards weren’t even meant to look nice since they weren’t meant to attract customers, they were meant to know how many hydraulic pumps and such were in stock. This example of sexism might not seem to be such a huge deal, but it’s what lays the foundation to even more sexist acts and thoughts.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                The Boy’s Life and Girls’ Life magazines show how boys and girls are seen in society and set up the standards on what boys and girls should do and act to fit into society’s sexist gender roles. The Boy’s Life magazine talks about how boys should be planning out their career and choosing to be an astronaut, a firefighter, or the president, while the Girls’ Life magazine talked about the new hairstyles and makeup girls should be trying out. These magazines are directed to twelve year-olds, and if this is what society is teaching the future policy makers and voters of the U.S., then of course there’s a reason why women don’t receive as much compensation as men. It’s all due to little moments when girls are being told to make things “pretty” and to look “pretty,” while boys are the only ones being told to dream big. Sexism isn’t something that should be tolerated or accepted in the U.S.

Therefore, I insist that there should be a change in society of how women are perceived. Having a woman being elected for the first time in history should send the message. Kids need to be educated and understand that females are equal to males. There shouldn’t be any sexism in the workplace either. If every man  and woman is created equal, then there should also be equal pay. Women should no longer be oppressed by sexism.

Best,

Guadalupe Refugio