Diana Iraheta

Fielding
Critical Reading and Writing 103
21 February 2016
Equal pay for women has been the topic of discussion for many
years now. Many have pointed out that the Equal Pay Act of 1963 that
abolishes wage disparity based on sex isnt doing its job. Feminist
groups around the world have even dedicated a day in April to show
support for pay equality. However, many dont share the same view as
feminists for this day. In the article from American Enterprise Institute,
The Equal Pay Day Reality Check, author Christina Hoff Sommers
states that the claim that American women as a group face
systematic wage discrimination is groundless. Sommer uses a variety
of rhetorical strategies to present her verbal arguments about the
Equal payday. The PSA presented in this essay was published in a
newspaper from the Labor Department of the US to show that their
recent studies support that women are not being discriminated for
gender. The rhetoric of Christina Sommerss Opposing Viewpoints
article against equal pay relies heavily on logical and ethical appeals
while the companion PSA appeals primarily to pathos. Both arguments
illustrate the many reasons for the pay gap between men and women,
with gender not being one of them.

In Christina Sommers article, she claims that several studies

show that women's choices about field of study, and time spent raising
a family together explain the bulk of the difference in pay between
men and women. Sommers intended to convince feminists that there is
no evidence of discrimination based on gender as a reason to build
new legislations. Sommers present her argument in topical order:
presenting numerous studies from the Labor department of the United
States, CONSAD, and many surveys done by PEW and AAUW.
Sommers uses the rhetorical appeal of ethos by including the
place she works and other writings she has done in the past. Sommers
uses her reputation as a writer of The War Against Boys: How
Misguided Policies Are Harming Our Young Men to instill a similar tone
in the article. Her position as one of the resident scholars at the
American Enterprise Institute adds credibility to her argument
(Sommers P1). Sommers credibility as a published writer helps her
argument become more powerful.
Sommers most obvious rhetorical appeal is her use of logos. An
example of this is when she stated the Labor department study
prepared by the CONSAD research corporation, Labor Department
official Charles E. James Sr. summed up the results in his foreword: This
study leads to the unambiguous conclusion that the differences in the
compensation of men and women are the result of a multitude of
factors and that the raw wage gap should not be used as the basis to

justify corrective action. (Sommers P4). This study by the labor

department helps makes Sommers point that women are not being
discriminated against because of their gender. She also uses the
American Association of University Women group to strength her
point, stating Women's groups do sometimes acknowledge that the
pay gap is largely explained by women's choices, as the AAUW does in
its 2007 Behind the Pay Gap. (8) She goes on the explain that the
main reason for the wage gap is because women prefer stay at home
with the kids rather than put the time and effort into work. She later
uses a PEW 2009 survey to prove her point that women's life choices
are a main cause of the wage gap. She points out the major
percentage difference in PEWs 2009 survey between women and men,
A strong majority of all working mothers (62%) say they would prefer
to work part time ... An overwhelming majority [of working fathers]
(79%) say they prefer full-time work. Only one-in-five say they would
choose part-time work" (Sommers P6). The difference in numbers helps
strengthen Sommers points that womens life choices is one of the
major reasons for the pay gap.
Sommers uses the rhetorical appeal pathos to strengthen her call
to action in her article about the issues of The Equal Day. Sommers
attempt to evoke an emotional response is found in her last paragraph,
American women are not being cheated out of a fifth of their salary.
They are not being corralled into inferior life choices. But dozens of

women's groups have spent years drawing this misleading picture, and
they have won some important converts (Sommers P15). Sommers
tries to appeal to the readers feelings of pride and anger to prove her
point, making the reader feel pride in their life choices and pointing out
that their life choices are not inferior just because women groups
around the country say they earn less. She also uses moving language
of anger in her last sentence for a call to action, most will stay far
away from the embarrassing grievance festivals planned for today's
Equal Pay Day (Sommers P15). That call to action is to not participate
in the Equal Pay Day event.

PSA from the US Labor Department stating the issue of the pay
gap
The PSA above presents a simple depiction of an adult woman
holding a child in one hand and a computer in the other. Despite this
simple image, the message is profound. The image plays on the

emotions of the intended audience, women. It conveys the message

that they must choose one, either putting in more hours at work or
their family life.
The creator of the PSA is not qualified to talk on the issue, only
having read a handful of the article of Equal pay. The creator of the PSA
tries to utilize ethos, a rhetorical appeal by placing the Department of
Labor United States of America logo at the bottom of the PSA. The
creator tries to demonstrate respect for other viewpoint by using the
Department of Labor logo as its ethos appeal, but its not fully
effective. The PSA could convey more biases to Christiana Sommers
article stating that the main reason for the pay gap is their life choices.
Perhaps the strongest rhetorical appeal used in the PSA is
Pathos. The picture in the middle helps make the main claim clear, that
womens life choices are the reason for the pay gap (Iraheta). The title
grabs the attention of the audience simply because it states Equal
pay= Equal work. This might give the audience the feeling that they
do not put in the same amount of work as men do. The pictures plays
on the values of women that they must choose one type a life, full-time
work or full-time mother. The picture in the PSA gives a personal
connection to any working mother. The PSA is also trying to make the
audience choose whats more important, work or family.
The creator uses logos to support its most strong rhetorical
appeal, pathos. Under the picture there is quote from a survey

supporting the claim that women prefer to work less, majority of

working mother (62%) say they would prefer to work part time An
overwhelming majority [of working fathers] (79%) say they prefer fulltime work (Iraheta). These statements help the message of the PSA
stating that women dont or choose not to put as much effort into work
as men do.
The PSA deepens the verbal argument of Christiana Sommers.
Both the PSA and Sommerss article make the point that the pay gap is
created due to many reasons, women life choices largely being the
main one. While Sommerss article largely relied on the rhetorical
appeals of logos and ethos, the PSA used pathos to get the main point
across. Overall, the picture in the PSA helped the PSA create a more
convincing argument for the reader, playing on the emotions of viewer
rather than using facts and statistics like Sommers used in her article.

Work Cited
Iraheta, Diana. Equal Pay=Equal Work. 16 Feb. 2016
Levins, Monica. Equal Pay. The Digital Voice Photos. The Digital Voice
Photos, 15 Dec. 2015. Web. 21 Jan. 2016.
Sommers, Christina Hoff. "The Equal Pay Day Reality Check." 2010. Rpt.
in Gender Roles. Ed. Nol Merino. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven
Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context.
Web. 21 Feb. 2016.