A Critical Look At The Statistic Known as The Wage Gap.

Michael Friant  Mr. Patterson  English 112 D16 8th February, 2019

A Critical Look At The Statistic Known as The Wage Gap.

In the essay “The Gender Wage Gap – A Myth That Just Won’t Die,” Abigail Hall strategicly attempts to debunk the American statistic which claims men are paid more than women. Hall uses a number of different statistics and specific factors to back up her conclusion. Ultimately, she is stating that society does not have an accurate perception because it is not taking into consideration all the facts surrounding the wage gap. She effectively uses eunoia to create a sense of intimacy, which aids in the mostly successful presentation of several appeals to logos she uses to prove her point.

Knowing that her claim of the gender wage gap would be controversial, Hall uses two intimate real life experiences to connect with her reader who may be skeptical. In the first paragraph, she says, “ As a woman making a critical career move, I’ve been up to my eyeballs in cover letters, resumes, statistics about cost of living, state income taxes, health insurance, and, of course, salary information” (Hall 91). She is signaling to her readers that she would be personally affected by the wage gap. This is effective because it creates a level of trust between them. Later Hall mentions, “Of the many economic-related fallacies to be cited as gospel on a regular basis, this one drives me positively insane” (92). She is creating a sense of vulnerability with the reader. In doing so, she effectively creates a sense of casual conversation between two friends, which in turn builds credibility for herself and her argument. 

However, Hall impedes on her credibility when she uses the instance from the 2015 Oscars in which Patricia Arquette used her status and platform to advocate for the gender wage gap. Although there is a wage gap between actors and actresses in Hollywood, it is highly unlikely that it would affect their everyday lives. Whereas the wage gap between genders of lower economic status would drastically determine the place they live, the type of food they eat, their social interactions etc. Most Americans reading this would not be able to connect with this example from Hollywood for the reason just analyzed. 

Hall argues the inadequate comparison of gross income is due to several specific factors. She says, “[I]t compares the income of all women to that of all men” (Hall 92). She effectively places this argument at the beginning to set the stage for the rest of the factors which influence the difference of gross income. One factor Hall mentions is women are much more likely to receive job offers in male dominated fields, which she backs up by quoting a study which focused on applications for jobs in the fields of electrical engineering and physics. The study concludes that while fewer women applied for those jobs, it “found that 32 and 20 percent of job offers went to female candidates in engineering and physics, respectively” (Hall 93). She mentions this to point out the fact that although society thinks women are somehow ecconomically mistreated, they are actually viewed as more competent in specific jobs than their male counterparts. She effectively quotes this study because women would not be offered men’s jobs if they were not viewed as equals.

One of the strongest appeal to logos is the hypothetical scenario demonstrating the financial difference between the firm hiring new employees based on the wage gap statistic. This is effective because numbers do not lie and women would actually be hired more frequently. She says the employers would have two options, “You can hire male CPAs at a price of $50,000 each, per year ($250,000 per year for all five), Or...  You can hire female CPAs at a price of $38,500 each (77% of the male wage), per year ($192,500 per year for all five)” (Hall 93). By stating this scenario, Hall is evoking the reader’s critical thinking skills. It is effective because shows the ridiculousness of what employers would need to go through in order to apparently save money. 

Similarly, Hall mentions yet another very important factor regarding the wage gap: the number of hours the different genders work. Hall says, “[W]omen and men also differ in the number of hours they choose to work”(93). This is very strategic for most Americans are living the cultural norm that women generally stay at home and take care of domestic affairs. The reader automatically recognizes and relates to this point, so it aids in her effectiveness of the argument. This also helps her claim about gross income because since women work fewer hours than men their total income would not be the same; therefore, it is not an adequate comparison. 

Additionally, another crucial component Hall mentions is the difference in career paths men and women choose. She says women, on one hand, comprise a majority of more nurturing and aiding jobs while men handle the physical and heavy duty jobs. She mentions this to challenge the reader to critically examine what each job entails rather than just assuming all jobs deserve the same amount of financial compensation. It is effective because it causes people to really ponder the skill sets required for certain jobs. 

Overall, Abigail Hall in “The Gender Wage Gap – A Myth That Just Won’t Die,” effectively arouses the critical thinking abilities of the reader to alter their opinions of the wage gap. She does this successfully by employing the use of statistics, a hypothetical scenario, and just common sense. She claims society does not have an adequate perception due to the diverse number of hours, the difference in skill set needed, and the number of applicants hired by a specific career field.