Unequal Pay Between Genders
For years, women have fought for their rights, but even today unequal pay still exists. For every dollar a man makes, a woman makes 80 cents. Gender should not affect salary especially when two people have worked just as hard to get to where they are.
Dear Future President:
Just recently I became aware of the term “herstory.” This term refers to history told from the woman’s perspective. I can recall making an ABC book of inventors and important people in history and not one of them was a woman because there was no woman listed in my textbook. Women have been under represented not only in history but also in society. Although women have fought and successfully gained many rights throughout the years, they still face many inequalities up to this day. One of the most unfair realities, in my opinion, is the wage gap between men and woman.
In the United States women are paid 80 cents for every dollar paid to a man. This averages out to 10,000 dollars per year in “lost earnings for women” (NWLC). This is very unfair pay when both have worked equally as hard as the other. Take two doctors for example, one male and another female. Both these doctors went to the same college and both studied for 11 years. These doctors experienced the same hardships, the same sleepless nights full of work, and the same challenging exams. Regardless of this, once the male doctor enters the workforce world, he will be paid a higher amount than the woman doctor. Notice that I did not say earn. Both doctors should earn the same amount of money because they have worked just as hard, but unfortunately their salary does not only depend on their work but on their gender.
This issue has been one that women have fought for in the past. The Equal Pay Act was passed in 1963. According to the National Women’s Law Center, 50 years ago, “ a woman was typically paid 59 cents for every dollar paid to her male counterpart — a 41-cent wage gap.” Today that gap has decreased to 23 cents. Yes, it has decreased by almost half of the amount but 23 cents of difference still does not define equality, also including the fact that women of color are paid even less than this. It is frustrating to know that the Equal Pay Act was passed 50 years ago and yet today the wage gap still exists.
The United States is one of the many countries where women outnumber the male population. This means that the majority of the population in the U.S. is currently underpaid. This issue should have an end. It is not fair and not justified in anyway. The current and future workforce should advocate to enforce equal pay and reward both genders equally for their work.
Sincerely,
Alejandra Perez