Persuasive Speech

In class, we have been working on our speeches. Mine is about Woman and men equality about the gender pay gap. It was hard to come up with the main points for the paragraphs but once I got them it was easier to write.

Men should get paid more than women

Now if a woman gets a degree attends universities and becomes an expert in their career and does the job just as well if not better than the male. Then why is it fair that a full time working women earns less. They should ABSOLUTELY get paid equal salaries.

New Zealand’s gender wage gap is currently one of the lowest in the OECD currently at 9.4%. The gap can be larger or smaller depending on the state someone lives in. In Louisiana, for instance, the gender pay gap is 30%, the biggest wage gap in the nation. Twenty-nine states in the country currently have gender pay gaps that are larger than the national average. Most states have implemented laws against gender discrimination and the 1964 civil rights act protects women at the federal level. Even though New Zealand has one of the lowest pay gaps it's still unfair that men are paid more than women.

Occupational segregation refers to the clustering of female and male workers in particular occupations. For example, women are over-represented in nursing while men are over-represented in construction-related occupations. Female-dominated occupations tend to be lower paid than those dominated by men. Vertical segregation refers to the fact that a higher proportion of men than women hold senior higher-paid positions. Which in my opinion holds a big effect on the gender pay gap.

It's unrealistic to think that equal pay is a one and done fix. There is no finish line to equal pay. More importantly, equality cannot be an afterthought. It must be part of the company's DNA and the tone must be set from the top. The solution is complex. Addressing the causes of the pay gap requires sustained action over time including changing societal attitudes and beliefs about women, men, and work. This requires action from a range of people including workers, employers, careers advisers, business leaders, employee groups, and the government. If the gender pay gap was fixed then maybe we wouldn't see many women struggling financially.

We cannot wait another 100 years for pay equality to become a reality. It's up to every business leader to take action and make sure that every employee is treated fairly. So even though women have been paid less in the past, it doesn't mean they have to be paid less in the future.