Question

Which points to the passage provide valid support for Warren's argument that women deserve equal pay for equal work? Select Valid Reasoning for points that support her argument. Select Invalid Reasoning for points that fail to support her argument.
I honestly can't believe that we're still arguing over equal pay in 2014.

When I started teaching elementary school after college, the public school district didn't hide the fact that it had two pay scales: one for men and one for women. Women have made incredible strides since then. But 40 years later, we're still debating equal pay for equal work.

Women today still earn only 77 cents for every dollar a man earns, and they're taking a hit in nearly every occupation. Bloomberg analyzed Census data and found that median earnings for women were lower than those for men in 264 of 265 major occupation categories. In 99.6 percent of occupations, men get paid more than women. That's not an accident; that's discrimination.

The effects of this discrimination are real, and they are long lasting. Today, more young women go to college than men, but unequal pay makes it harder for them to pay back student loans. Pay inequality also means a tougher retirement for women. . . .

For middle-class families today, it usually takes two incomes to get by, and many families depend as much on Mom's salary as they do on Dad's, if not more. Women are the main breadwinners, or joint breadwinners, in two-thirds of the families across the country, and pay discrimination makes it that much harder for these families to stay afloat.

Women are ready to fight back against pay discrimination, but it's not easy. Today, a woman can get fired for asking the guy across the hall how much money he makes. Here in the Senate, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act to give women the tools to combat wage discrimination. It would help ensure that salary differences have something to do with the actual job that they are doing, and not just because they are women.

This is a common-sense proposal—no discrimination, no retaliation when women ask how much the guys are getting paid, and basic data that tell us how much men and women are getting paid for key jobs. Basic protection, basic information—that's essentially all this bill does. Employers can still pay different workers different salaries based on factors like skill, performance, expertise, seniority, and so forth—the Paycheck Fairness Act doesn't touch any of that.

Even while women still earn less than men in 99.6 percent of occupations, Senate Republicans won't even let the Senate vote on a bill to help make the workplace a little fairer for women. They just filibustered the Paycheck Fairness Act for a third time, telling women that we don't need paycheck fairness.

This should be a no-brainer. America's women are tired of hearing that pay inequality isn't real. We're tired of hearing that it is somehow our fault, and we're ready to fight back. We are not going to give up on passing the Paycheck Fairness Act to level the playing field for hardworking women in the workplace.

Valid Reasoning--------------Invalid Reasoning
Women are the main breadwinners in two-thirds of families across the country.

Employers pay different workers different salaries based on skill level.

Paying people different salaries for the same work is discrimination.

Women's incomes are needed for the survival of their families.

Women are ready to fight back against pay discrimination.

Answer 1

Women are the main breadwinners in two-thirds of families across the country. - Valid reasoning. This does support the argument by showing the damage the unequal pay does not only to those women, but also to their families.

Employers pay different workers different salaries based on skill level. - Invalid reasoning. Women don't demand to be paid more than the men who happen to have better skills, but simply to be paid equally when they have equal skills.

Paying people different salaries for the same work is discrimination. - Valid reasoning. That is the basic argument, leveled up. It would be the same as paying all blue-haired men more than the brown or black-haired, when they are doing the same work, with the same skills.

Women's incomes are needed for the survival of their families. - Valid reasoning. Just like in the first case, this one shows that this issue doesn't only concern women, but their families - finally, their husbands, the very ones who are paid better for equal work.

Women are ready to fight back against pay discrimination. - Invalid reasoning. This doesn't have anything to do with the issue itself. It is just a reaction to it, but it doesn't support it.