Topic and Issue: Modern feminists believe that American women are paid less than men by 22 percent because of their sex organs -- or lack thereof. Each sources concentrates on the disparities of income between sexes with an emphasis on bigotry -- or lack thereof. The topic will focus on the need for government intervention in gender-related economic issues -- or lack thereof. My issue, then, will be this: whether or not the women in the workforce should receive government aid in the form of policies and monetary reparations in return for their many years of oppression.
Preliminary Claim: Although there is a strong conviction from modern feminists that — as a result of sexism — females receive only 78 percent of a man’s salary for the same work,
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Lips claims, “the White House and others who promote the myth are manipulating statistics in a way to convince women that they are the victims of systematic societal discrimination, and, therefore, stand to benefit from further government action”. The article also provides statistics and gives reasons why the statistic -- a symbol of rampant discrimination -- is considered “debunked”. Karin Agness Lips prefaces her argument writing, “I asked this group of college women if they believed they would get paid 78 cents on the dollar compared to men just because they were women. A majority of the women raised their hands”. This anecdotal poll provides a strong base for which she goes on to disprove later in the article. Her writing incorporates numerous reputable sources, each of which hold the opposite opinion, but Lips uses them to her advantage, deeming society brainwashed for believing that discrimination is still unbridled in modern American civilization. Lips’ article will serve as a crucial source for backing my own argument: women are not economically …show more content…
The article highlights one of the largest factors when calculating the gender wage gap: the innate, female ability to rear children. She writes a shocking statistic: “Immediately after the first birth, the pay gap between spouses doubles” (Miller). Miller goes on to explain why this phenomenon occurs; she discusses the prime career building years, biological factors, and numerical statistics of why women seem to be paid less: their own decision to have and raise a child. The natural tendencies of women also play into the statistic; Miller states, “Women are more likely to reduce their work hours, take time off, turn down a promotion or quit their jobs to care for family”. This source will be a keystone in my claim because it provides one of the them most crucial factors in the misnomered “wage