Mr. Chris Van Hollen
House Office Building
1701 Longworth H.O.B.
Washington, D.C. 20525
U.S House of Representatives
Dear Mr. Van Hollen,
My name is Lucy, and I am a ninth grader in my school. Ever since the very first stereotypes of males being typically smarter and stronger than woman, and to this day woman still get treated unfairly. Gender Inequality has surfaced as a major issue and it still is. In fact according to AFL-CIO “women still earn an average of just 77 cents on the dollar compared to men’s earnings.”
Achieving Gender Equality is a fight that still has a long way to go, but we have come a long way compared to the 59 cents woman made for every dollar men earned in 1963 when President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act. That law, according to the White House, made “it illegal for employers to pay lower wages to women doing substantially the same work as their male counterparts.” This milestone was the result to groups that carry on the tradition of the Sister Suffrages who organized protests and countless town meetings. Gender Equality is an important issue for me because being a girl means this issue is more present in my life. Looking around my honors English class, I know that when I grow up that the boy sitting next to could get paid more for doing the exact same job as me. I want to change this to to create an equal playing field; I want people to get paid the amount they earn.
This is why I want to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act and become one step closer to winning the fight of gender equality. I see you are a sponsor of the bill, and as you know, this bill would require equal pay for men and woman and ensure people get paid the same amount no matter what. Thank you for sponsoring this bill, I am excited to see it become a law. Please tell me how I can help.
Sincerely,
Lucy