Hugh Cole students were recently assigned an opinion/argument letter on a topic of their choice, and the results were sent to the Warren Times. This is one of the letters:

To Whom It May Concern,
Serena Williams, Sonya Renee, Carli Lloyd, Emma Watson, Melissa Harris-Perry, all women affected by unequal pay. Women deserve to be treated equal as the average man. That is why, in my opinion, women deserve better pay because women are already paid less than men, women have things they need to pay for, and the biggest question of all, why would you pay a women less than a man?
My first reason is that women are already paid less than men. For example, “Women get paid 77 cents for every dollar a man makes.” a claim stated by N.O.W, a organization supporting equal pay. Also, in over 145 countries, there is a pay gap between women and men. In addition, “The poverty level will drop by 50% in 28 states if women get paid equally.” another claim stated by a organization by the name of W.F.N.
Another reason on why women deserve equal pay is because women have things they need to pay for. For example, women have to pay for taxes, bills, and car payments. Also, women need to pay to go grocery shopping so they can provide for themselves and so they can eat and function throughout the day. In addition, women have to pay for food and a place to stay if they have kids.
And the most important question of all. Why would you pay a women less than a man? Women and men can work at the same job and, sometimes, do the same thing but the men would get paid more. There is really no explanation for this nor is there a reason. Men and women are both equal, human beings. Why can’t their pay be equal as well. And finally, just because you’re a women, people have no right to control how much you get paid.
One time, my best friend told me about her father’s work place which is IBM. She told me that the C.E.O , which is a female, of the company gets paid 33 million dollars a year, while other male C.E.Os before her got paid 50 million dollars a year. I find that very despicable that such a big company would do that just because she is a women!
On the other hand, people have said that the pay gap is just a myth and there is no reason why we should have a “Equal Pay Day.” But, the pay gap is a real thing. If a man ever compared a check with a women and they work the same job, there is most likely going to be a gap between their checks. For example, a website called “MPW” tells a story about a HR Manager admitting to paying female coworkers less. This is definitely not a “myth” instead it is a terrible thing that is going on.
In conclusion, women deserve equal pay because women are already paid less, women have things they need to pay for, and the biggest question about this opinion is why would you pay a women less than a man? Women and men are equal. Equal human beings. There is no reason on why women are paid less than a man. Stores upon stores are apart of unequal pay. They need to change, and they need to change NOW!
Sincerely,
Alona Leonard
Warren