Diego Yair Rodriguez

May 3, 2019
Argumentative Reflection

My argumentative assignment is a Gender research project. This argumentative

assignment was completed during my junior year of high school in my AP English Language
class. My claim was that giving women an unequal wage is an injustice. This is an
argumentative piece because I made a claim that women should get paid the same amount as
men, that there shouldn't be any difference between the two genders. In order for me to backup
my claim I used credible evidence. Evidence that I cited from the Women’s Policy Research
stated that women get paid 20% less than men on average but, in the future, women would
eventually get paid the same as men by the year 2059.
During this assignment I met two student learning outcomes (SLOs), critical thinker and
effective communicator. I was a critical thinker when I was doing this assignment by using
credible evidence to support my claim on women’s wages. I was a critical thinker because I had
to make sure to analyze the statistics I was researching that had to support my claim and so I
could make connections between my evidence and my claim. I was an effective communicator
by using persuasive language to convince the reader about what I was trying to say in the
essay. I was also an effective communicator by changing the way I was writing so that adults
could understand what I was trying to show them. I also wrote my essay in a very clear and
structured way so that the reader could easily understand what I was trying to say.
As I was working on this assignment, it helped me identify which skills I improved on and
which one I still need to improve. During this assignment I improved being able to connect my
evidence to my claim. I also believe I improved on analyzing my statistics better. Although I
improved on some skills, I still need to improve on my grammar so I can fully explain the
purpose of the essay. Being able to set up an appropriate argument will help me in the future as
a sports medicine doctor when I am explaining what treatments options my patients will need.
 Wage Inequalities

Men have always said that women are vulnerable since the beginning of the nation’s

formation. In fact, this isn't true because women as well as men go through difficult things in their

lifetime. Women have received lower salaries due to the idea that women can’t do more than men.

In many instances, this belief is not true because everyone is capable of doing anything. Women

are deserving to receive the same salary as men because they are just as hardworking like them.

Women have a special place in our hearts because they birth and raise us. Life without them would

be incomplete. Women deserve to be given the same amount of wage as men because they

contribute to our nation, the process of maternity, and providing them the knowledge so that there

children can become great citizens.

First of all, women should not get less than men because they are hard working individuals.

They are able to set goals, to get a degree, pay the bills, raise a family, and to provide needs. They

do not fail like men have done in the past because women have been determined to live up to the

same standards men have. According to “institute for women's policy research; women continue

to earn considerably less than man”. This shows us that women are often facing injustices in the

workplace because they are deemed to be as something less in our society. Therefore, for many

women it is really unfair because men get paid more for the same job. Furthermore, this article

also says that “sex or race discrimination shows outright discrimination in pay”. This further adds

on to many judgements many women across our nation faced. Many women have been labeled

and stereotyped throughout our nation’s history which makes men think of them as vulnerable.

This creates a patriarchal society that does not give women the equal right to earn the same salary

men do.
 To add on, it is about time that women should get paid the same amount of salary sooner

than later because it is hard for women out there that do not have the sufficient amount of money

right now. Kevin Miller says “at the rate of change between 1960 to 2016, women are expected to

reach pay equity with man in 2059”. Even though times have changed and people have been more

accepting of others in recent times, injustices are still happening, This reveals that not every man

is not the problem but also the government that is not giving fair salaries to the women that live in

this nation. As progressive as this country seems to be, there are issues going on in our system that

will continue to happen which means women still have a long way to go, to reach the standard of

the opposite sex. It will take women another estimated 50 years until they could finally be paid the

same. Miller also believes that “however, while more education is a useful tool for increasing

earnings are less, it is not effective against the gender pay gap”. This quote further expresses the

division that women still face in the workplace. The gender pay gap which is the salary difference

between men and women will not be changed overnight and it will be challenging to fight for that

right, the right that will take time.

In addition, wages can show use how women contribute to america in today's society.

Women somehow earn less than men which is something that is very unfair. Anna Brown say’s

“the gender gap is narrowing among young adults than among workers overall median hourly

women earnings of U.S women as percentage of men's median among….”. This quote emphasizes

that women are paid the same amount of money as young adults which is really absurd because

adult women are not getting paid what an adult man get for his salary.The government should not

make this so complicated because there is a lot of evidence that women do contribute more than

men. The articles says that “ roughly a quarter (27%) said they had quit”. This emphasizes that it

is hard for women to live with these injustices, especially for the mother’s who are raising their
children without a father. This can relate with a lady I am interviewing an anonymous women who

is 30 years old that happens to have no husband. The mother of the anonymous women helps her

take care of her teenage sons. She said it is difficult to get enough money since men get more and

it is money due to the system making it difficult for her. She works hard every everyday because

she wants the best for her teenage sons even though she sometimes can be tired. Her 17 year old

son gets the same amount as her and it is very shocking for her to see because she works at the

same workplace as other men. Despite of her hard work, she receives the same amount of money

like the young adults. At the end of the day, she thinks it is pretty unfair not because her son gets

the same amount of money as her but because she is a women.

Men and women should defeat these inequalities by joining forces like brothers and sisters

to help each other because we are all humans that are all connected to each other. In the AAUU

article written by Anna Brown and Eileen Patten “women...lower-paying occupations, and this

may also contribute to gender differences in pay”. This quote shows that the gender is important

possibly due to the beliefs and the system which is not doing justices , truly because women can

be strong as man and independent. In the AAUU article written by Anna Brown and Eileen Patten

they both say “...63% of men said this country needs to continue making changes to give men and

women equality in the workplace”. This quote evidentiary shows that there could be other people

out of this percentage that could probably feel that women should stay in their roles just how they

used to be or they just don't really care about any side. The interesting part is that a lot of men

show interest to help women gain their well deserved rights. Therefore, this comes to show how

times are changing due to the large quantity of men who believe that women should get the same

salary as they do because women have been more than capable of doing what they want to do. The

lady I am interviewing is one of many women across this nation that would like to see a change
in our system so that they can receive the same amount of money as men because she wants to

have the sufficient amount of money for her needs.

In America, women are paid differently than men which can be very difficult for women

especially for those who are single mothers that do not have a husband to help with the school

materials that the children's might need. Some of those women work harder to get a bit more than

what they are usually paid to work for. According to American women and the Wage Gap it is said

“... nearly six in 10 women...identify equal pay as one of the most important issues facing women

in the workplace”. This quote shows that a great quantity of women feel the wage gap is an issue

that is still relevant in present day because men and women work the same position at the same

workplace, yet get paid less. The same article states that “... the fair pay act would diminish wage

disparities that result from gender based occupational segregation”. This quote shows us hope that

can really make a difference and make brothers and sisters equal. When I interviewed this women

she said that this was a great subject to talk about since it is educational and also important to know

about because the real world may be harder for women with this low salaries that they are getting

paid.

In conclusion women and man have been differentiated due to beliefs. This is something

that could change if everyone unites and fights against this wage difference. Women are very smart

and are not fragile they are very dependent. Women are humans which easily tells us that they

were created the same as man. Beliefs might not also be the problem it can also be the systems

government that might be making it difficult for the women in today's society. Times might have

changed and there might be a lot different from womens of the past but there is still a lot to change.

Hopefully someday we will all agree that everyone is equal and that no one is different due to there

gender,color, and religion.

 Works Cited

“Chapter 5: Balancing Work and Family.” Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends

Project, 11 Dec. 2013, www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/12/11/chapter-5-balancing-work-and-family/.

Dolor, 2018 Institute for Women's Policy Research. All Rights Reserved. Print 2018

Graf, Nikki, et al. “The Narrowing, but Persistent, Gender Gap in Pay.” Pew Research Center, Pew

Research Center, 9 Apr. 2018, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/09/gender-pay-gap-facts/.

“The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap.” AAUW: Empowering Women Since

1881, www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/.