Argumentative Essay On Equal Pay

The gender wage gap is one of the most controversial issues that exists in the United States. In a rapidly changing workplace, in which women are obtaining high profile jobs, the problem has arose about equal pay. One side of the argument suggests that women only get paid 79 cents for every dollar that a male counterpart makes, while the other side of the spectrum states that this is just a myth (Hochwarter, Wayne). The United States Women National Soccer Team (USWNT) is a highly successful team due to the fact that they just won the World Cup in 2015, while the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) have never placed higher than third. The USWNT have filed a complaint that they are receiving ¼ of what a men’s national team player makes (businessinsider.com). On the surface this appears to be a legitimate claim due to the fact that both are our nation’s national teams and one could argue that the women deserve more than the men based on prior success. Gender gap cannot be …show more content…
Examining this statement further some of their claims are based on the most optimistic forecasting. The worst case scenario regarding pay difference is when both teams win every game (based on a 20 game model), and in this case the USWNT still earns 37% of what the USMNT earns, which is above the claim that the USWNT team earns ¼ of what the USMNT earns (nytimes.com). Another argument by the USWNT is that men get a much higher bonus per game, which is accurate as the USMNT earns $8,166 for a win, while the USWNT earns only $1,350 for a win (nytimes.com). This can be backed up by the previous statement that the USWNT has set the proverbial bar very high and it is expected that they win a majority of their games, while the USMNT has been notoriously average and a victory by the men’s national team increases attendance and allows for more revenue to be generated thus incentivizing the men’s