Running head: Gender Inequality

Gender Inequality on Pay Gaps

Chasity Cerros, Edgar Alvarez, Jude Kyron Cordero, Celeste Borunda, & Guillermo

Barrios

The University of Texas at El Paso

Dr. Chowiang

English 1302: Rhetorical Writing

Running head: Gender Inequality

Introduction

Over time women have been treated as inferior to men, they were not allowed to vote in

the United States until 1920, and until this day they do not make the same amount of money as

men for the same work being done. The gender pay-gap is no myth, and has been systematically

practiced all around the world in order to restrict pay for women. The pay-gap is only one of the

many inequalities women are obligated to endure in the workplace. For every dollar a man

makes, women only make two-thirds of that dollar, for the same work. A speech from Jo Cribb

titled “Close the Gender Pay Gap” is able to invoke action the viewer to make a change in the

workplace seeking equality for women. In an article written by Moshe Semyonov & Hadas

Mandel, there is an extensive amount of research and data used to support the claim that women

make less money than men for the same amount of work done.

Structure and Delivery

The authors of the journal start it off by stating and giving an overview on the

issue of the gender pay-gap. Then it is followed by various charts and data to support their

claims. They then end the article by tying up their thoughts together and stating possible

solutions. The structure of the article works very logically by simply exposing a global issue,

explaining the details about it while providing academic research to back it up, and finally,

proposing potential solutions to this worldwide problem. There are few to no limitations because

of the genre. The authors were able to express everything they needed to.

The information in the TedTalk is organized in a way that exposes the issue by

using specific examples and proposing a solution afterward. As she proposes her solution, she

addresses counterarguments. The structure works perfectly with her purpose. She wants to
Running head: Gender Inequality

provide a solution that will bring an end to the gender pay gap. By structuring her speech in a

problem/solution manner, she accomplishes her purpose by identifying the issue at hand,

explaining it in depth, proposing a solution to this problem, and addressing any potential

counterarguments for this solution. There are hardly any limitations because of the genre. The

speaker has freedom to say what she wants, visually express herself, and use any visual aids

(images, graphs, etc.) that she felt necessary.

Audience and Purpose

The intended audience whom Jo Cribb’s speech and Moshe Semyonov & Hadas

Mandel’s article is intended to reach is men and women who can make a difference in some way,

no matter how small, to either bring awareness or make a change in their workplace. The purpose

of Moshe Semyonov & Hadas Mandel’s article is to inform the reader on the silent issue on

gender equality. the pay-gap in specific. Jo Cribb’s speech was intended to persuade the listener

to take action and make a change in their workplace with the goal of eventually ending the pay-

gap. Both the article and video are trying to bring general awareness on the issue since it is not

spoken about enough. One big difference between the genres is that the article’s purpose is

strictly to inform and has various studies to back up any statements made, whereas the video’s

purpose is mainly to encourage the viewer to take action and has little to no credible data to

support the speaker’s claims. A noticeable similarity, on the other hand, is that both genres are

effective in bringing awareness to the issue of the gender pay-gap.

Ethos
Running head: Gender Inequality

The article’s authors establish their credibility in various ways. For one, they include

statements in the article that establish that comments and letters about the article may be sent to

the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. On top

of this, it provides information that earlier versions of this article were presented at the

International Symposium on Income Distribution During Economic Transition and at the May

2005 Meeting of the Research Committee on Social Stratification and Mobility in Oslo. The

academic background of this article along with its usage in important bureaucratic meetings

provide credibility for the audience to trust the author’s words.

Jo Cribb, the speaker in the TedTalk video titled “Close the Gender Pay Gap”, attempts to

establish her credibility by starting her talk off with a personal anecdote about her own

experiences with gender inequality in the workplace. In the description of the YouTube video, it

is also established that the speaker, Jo Cribb has great experience working with social issues that

face New Zealand. It goes on to state that she was recently the chief executive of the Ministry for

Women and deputy children’s commissioner. These explanations establish her credibility as the

speaker and provide the audience valid reasoning to trust her.

Pathos

This genre is attempting to evoke emotion through comparison of the different family

policies, wage structures, and gender gaps in these 20 countries. The author attempts to make us

conscious about the issue she is exposing with different stories and examples for us to understand

the problem, mostly from a woman’s perspective. The author transmits emotions by speaking

about personal experiences in the workplace, situations and scenarios she went trough and
Running head: Gender Inequality

transmits her feelings to the audience through her writing. The speaker, Jo Cribb, also evokes

emotion in the listener by giving a personal anecdote about a time when she was sexually

harassed at her workplace.

Logos

The first genre uses a logical appeal by the use of statistics which is shown on the tables

of the authors’ article. The statistics are used to support the claim of the gender pay-gap between

the 20 countries listed. The evidence is provided by a credible source showing collected data of

the (WSII) Distribution of Welfare State Intervention Index and of Indicators of Earnings Gaps

between Economically Active Men and Women in 20 countries. In the second genre the speaker

gives the example of how the Australian government has made it mandatory for companies to

report their pay-gap and as a result the gap is decreasing each year. The guest speaker is speaking

for a website called TEDx that only allows credible sources.

Conclusion

Both sources did an excellent job in getting their points across. The journal article was

very academic in its language and utilized its platform well in order to express ideas and share

evidence for its argument. Jo Cribb, in her TedTalk, was an excellent voice for the issue and used

her experiences to provide anecdotes and solutions for this problem that needs addressing. In the

end, it appears that the journal article was more effective in addressing the issue and providing a

broken-down, institutional solution.

Running head: Gender Inequality

References

Semyonov, M., & Mandel, H. (n.d.). Family policies, wage structures, and gender gaps:

Sources of earnings inequality in 20 countries. SAGE Journals, 70(6), 949-967.

https://doi.org/10.1177/000312240507000604

TEDx Talks. (2017, June 27). Close the Gender Pay Gap | Jo Cribb | TEDxWellington

[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy1pvgChJn4