Gender wage gap has been a problem ever since wages were a thing. Women for some reason have always been paid less than men, even if they are doing the exact same job as a male. It does not make sense for women to be paid less, considering they make up more than half of the workforce. In the last few decades or so, women have made huge jumps. For example, women have made their way into jobs that before were only worked by men. So, their efforts have not fully fallen on a deaf ear, but they still are not making the same that men are, which is not right. I believe women deserve to be paid equally because they do the exact same things men do, so there is literally no logical reason for women to be paid less.

Benefits

How equal pay would be a benefit

Giving women equal pay would do nothing but benefit everyone. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research has done multiple studies of what would happen if women were paid equally. In one of their documents, they say, “equal pay would cut poverty among working women and their families by more than half and add $513 billion to the national economy.” (IWPR para, 5) This study alone should be enough to push the idea of paying women equally. Being able to get people out of poverty should be a priority.

Women of Color

How are women of color impacted

IWPR has estimated that if the changes keep going at the snail’s pace that they are right now, caucasian women will reach equal pay by 2059, around 40 years in the future. However, women of color are impacted even worse by this. The years that women of color would reach equal pay do not even seem real, that is how far away they are. The year 2224 would be the year Hispanic women reach equal pay, while 2130 would be the year African American women would reach equal pay. 

Reliability

How reliable are my sources

IWPR is the resource I reference in this, but I used another source to fully form my opinion. IWPR is a website run by people who have all gotten their PHDs, so they would not be people to create an unreliable source. They hope to spark conversation about the pay wage gap through their studies.

My second source is the National Women’s Law Center. For 40 years they have been a big factor in changing and bettering lives for women. They hope to use the law to continue to improve the working conditions and pay for women.