American President Barack Obama Again underscored the importance of ensuring equal pay for equal work and highlighted the steps his Administration has taken to expand opportunity and narrow the pay gap that exists between men and women.
In this week’s address, the President highlighted the action taken to increase transparency and make it easier to recognize pay discrimination.
President said that Women make up half of America’s workforce, and are increasingly the primary-breadwinners in American families. Ensuring that women are paid fairly is a commonsense step to grow our economy. That is why the President again called on Republicans in Congress to support the Paycheck Fairness Act and stop blocking progress that would benefit women – because when women succeed, America succeeds.
Earlier this week was Equal Pay Day. It marks the extra time the average woman has to work into a new year to earn what a man earned the year before. You see, the average woman who works full-time in America earns less than a man – even when she’s in the same profession and has the same education.
Obama Called it wrong + an embarrassment.He Said Women deserve equal pay for equal work.
Obama Said”This is an economic issue that affects all of us. Women make up about half our workforce. And more and more, they’re our families’ main breadwinners. So it’s good for everyone when women are paid fairly. That’s why, this week, I took action to prohibit more businesses from punishing workers who discuss their salaries – because more pay transparency makes it easier to spot pay discrimination. And I hope more business leaders will take up this cause.
But equal pay is just one part of an economic agenda for women.
Most lower-wage workers in America are women. So I’ve taken executive action to require federal contractors to pay their federally-funded employees at least ten dollars and ten cents an hour. I ordered a review of our nation’s overtime rules, to give more workers the chance to earn the overtime pay they deserve.Here’s the problem, Republicans in Congress have blocked progress at every turn. Just this week, Senate Republicans blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act, commonsense legislation that would help more women win equal pay for equal work. House Republicans won’t vote to raise the minimum wage or extend unemployment insurance for women out of work through no fault of their own. The budget they passed this week would force deep cuts to investments that overwhelmingly benefit women and children – like Medicaid, food stamps, and college grants. And of course, they’re trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act for the fiftieth or so time, which would take away vital benefits and protections from millions of women.
I’m going to keep fighting to make sure that doesn’t happen. Because we do better when our economy grows for everybody, not just a few. And when women succeed, America succeeds”.