Alexis Rich

1822 N Perkins Rd
Stillwater, OK  74075

April 6, 2020
 
Donald Trump
President of the United States 
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC  20500
 
Dear President Trump, 
 
I would like a moment of your time to discuss income disparities between men and women in the
United States.  You hold a position of great power and influence in this country, and thus, it is
crucial that you are able to recognize and address this issue.  Unequal pay between genders is
unjust and needs to be stopped. 

In 2019, according to a payscale study reported by Forbes Magazine, “women still make only
$0.79 for each dollar men make.” The fact that a female worker earns nearly a quarter less than a
male worker for doing the exact same job, regardless of the skill and complexity involved,
reflects a true crisis in this country. This obvious discrepancy evidences the deeply entrenched
social and political barriers that women in the United States have been fighting to eliminate for
decades. Yet, progress and change has been slow, as the pendulum of equality drags through the
labyrinth of systems and structures that have been both intentionally designed, and evolved, to
further, foster, and facilitate the oppression of women. Therefore, Mr. President, when you are
re-elected, you must allocate more resources, both powerful minds and powerful dollars, toward
a solution to end unequal pay based on sex. 
 
There are many different factors that contribute to the gender pay gap. Research has shown that
women are much more likely than men to require time off of work. Clearly, women carry and
deliver children, which absolutely necessitates some time away from work, regardless of the
circumstances involved. Further, in addition to this natural fact, women many times take on a
larger share of responsibility at home. Women are expected to be much more than simply a
breadwinner, as they must often simultaneously function as mother, homemaker, cook, maid,
teacher, and nurse, to name only a few roles women often dominate at home. In many cases,
“mom” must also be the primary, or even sole earner, while she skillfully attempts to balance the
expectations involved in successfully managing home, children, and family. 

However, when women miss work due to pregnancy, sickness, or family emergencies, they lose
both pay and that day’s, week’s, or month’s experience, which, in terms of career growth and
promotion, can hold them back long into the future. Mr. President, you must empower and aid
states to pass laws that require, and generate economic avenues for, businesses to provide paid
leave to all of their employees regardless of the size or type of work involved. As the Center for
American Progress stated, “state-level paid family leave programs, and a national system such as
that proposed in the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, or FAMILY Act, would help
decrease the impact of the gender wage gap by supporting the vital work of caregivers and
reinforcing families’ economic security.” 
 
In the United States, both parents are required to work to meet the needs of the large majority of
families. Thus, childcare represents an absolute necessity that is also a huge expense. Studies
have shown that costs related to childcare burden families more than a mortgage, rent, or car
payments. With help from you, we can lower childcare costs and help eliminate the gap. The
Center for American Progress states that “[i]nvesting in affordable, high-quality child care
creates long-lasting structures that support both working parents and children, increasing
women’s ability to keep a job, excel in the workforce, and lower the gender wage gap.” 
 
Being female is not the only thing that leads to pay inequality between women and men. The
interconnected nature of race and gender mean that disparities in pay are magnified and
increased for women who belong to racial and ethnic minority groups. Therefore, minority
women experience even larger pay gaps than white women. According to Equitable Growth,
racial factors equate to “4.3 percent of gender wage inequality, . . . which translates to $34.4
billion in wage differences for women of color.” Women of all ethnicities should not have to
continue to fight for equal pay. The women of this country deserve better. It is 2020, and it is
time for change. You have the power to make that change. 
 
I have many successful women in my family who have worked hard to grow their careers and
deserve equal pay. My cousin is a lawyer in Texas who graduated from Harvard University. She
put in many long hours of studying to get perfect grades. She spent too many years in school and
struggled too hard to prove herself at a firm, not to be paid the same salary as her male
colleagues in the same position. This sadly is the case for many female attorneys who put their
heart and soul into their work. The United States Census Bureau found that, “[a]t mid-career,
when earnings peak, the top 10 percent of female lawyers earn more than $300,000 a year, while
the top 10 percent of male lawyers earn more than $500,000.”  Thus, regardless of how hard a
female attorney works, she will not be afforded the same income as her male counterpart. The
women of my family, and every other family in this country, deserve better. President Trump, it
is my true hope that you will take in this information and start working toward a solution. 
 
What I have presented in this letter, only addresses a small part of how unequal pay affects
women in this country. Providing equal pay regardless of race or gender, will work to stimulate
the economy and help make this country great. The options I offered here can be a simple start to
remedying a big and multifaceted problem. 

In closing, if you hear nothing else, please consider that a study discussed in “Closing the Pay
Gap” by Tamara Lytle in SHRM Magazine, found that “[r]educing the pay gap helps in the
hiring, promotion and retention of women, and in turn results in more female leaders.” Giving
women equal pay can lead to something even more powerful. Working with women, perhaps
even some of the incredible women in your own family, to address this problem, can advance a
shift in the thinking and creation of female leadership far beyond the bounds of the United States
or the present generation. Thank you for all that you do, but now, you must free the pendulum
toward true justice in pay for all people. 
Sincerely,
              
Lexi Rich
 

 
 Work Cited

“Gender Wage Inequality in the United States: Causes and Solutions to Improve Family Well-Being

and Economic Growth.” Equitable Growth, 29 Mar. 2019, equitablegrowth.org/gender-wage-

inequality-in-the-united-states-causes-and-solutions-to-improve-family-well-being-and-

economic-growth/.

Glynn, Sarah Jane, et al. “7 Actions That Could Shrink the Gender Wage Gap.” Center for

American Progress, www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2014/09/18/97421/7-

actions-that-could-shrink-the-gender-wage-gap/.

Lytle, Tamara. “Closing the Gender Pay Gap.” SHRM, SHRM, 16 Aug. 2019, www.shrm.org/hr-

today/news/hr-magazine/summer2019/pages/closing-the-gender-pay-gap.aspx.

Nasser, Haya El. “Number of Women Lawyers At Record High But Men Still Highest Earners.”

The United States Census Bureau, 16 July 2019,

www.census.gov/library/stories/2018/05/women-lawyers.html#.

Ziv, Shahar. “3 Ways The Gender Pay Gap Is Even Bigger Than You Think.” Forbes, Forbes

Magazine, 15 July 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/shaharziv/2019/07/11/gender-pay-gap-bigger-

than-you-thnk/#76030fb07d8a.