“Let’s get real,” Melody Barnes says, eyes scanning the audience. I follow her gaze, which lands on a sea of supporters all proudly sporting teal Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act! stickers.
“It is time to look forward,” she continues. “It’s time, after nearly 50 years of shifting women’s workforce roles and family responsibilities.”
“Getting real” about the widespread impact that pay inequity has on women, families, and communities across the nation was the focus of the Middle Class Task Force event hosted by Vice President Joe Biden Tuesday at the White House.
“Just as the president encouraged the Senate to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, the task force does as well,” Barnes said. A roar of applause filled the room, and I jumped to my feet in celebration of the administration’s support of a policy that so positively affects women and families.
One after another, our nation’s leaders stepped forward at the event with heartfelt acknowledgements of how deeply the wage gap hurts our country’s women, many sharing a personal story about a woman in their own lives who fought for equal pay.
“Reality has intruded on this issue of fair pay,” Vice President Biden remarked. “Because, ultimately, ladies and gentlemen, this comes down to … a quality-of-life issue, not only for the woman, but everyone around her.”
AAUW Public Policy Fellows with Lilly Ledbetter at the White House
The vice president brought the issue of pay inequity to life for all the supporters in the audience. “We’re all familiar with the story of the woman who starts at a lower salary base and never catches up, even if things get better,” he commented. “The woman who doesn’t get the same raise as a man does, … the woman who never knows what everyone else makes, and how much less she makes than her peers.” As I looked around, I saw nods and, at times, tears — perhaps because just behind the vice president stood Lilly Ledbetter, a real woman whose fight against pay discrimination brought her all the way to the Supreme Court. When she spoke of her journey, Lilly said, “It’s not just my story. It belongs to each one of you, every American family across this nation. It is your story as well.”
As he closed his remarks, Biden called for all senators to support passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act. “This is your chance, and I mean this sincerely, to get on the right side of history,” he said. “For the women you say you care about, the daughters you say you care about, the granddaughters you say you care about. Step up, man. Step up and change the law.”
With that, Biden called on Congress to get real about passing the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that supports real families across the nation.
This post was written by AAUW Public Policy Fellow Becca Rutenberg. Becca is a sophomore at Boston University, pursuing a dual degree in Political Science and Business Administration and Management.
From the perspective of young female college student, like myself, who just got a summer job at a time of far and few employment opportunities especially in the midst of summer, I’m happy to see a fairness in paycheck for myself and my female co-workers. The benefit of The Paycheck Fairness Act not only is a comfort to me monetarily, but also to my family emotionally. It puts a smile on their face to see that I’m working and receiving a fairness of pay. Whether or not I’m chipping in for the college bill, the fact that I’m working and earning a fair wage make my parents believe it all plays in to fostering positive self- growth.
Glad to see someone supporting the paycheck fairness act. I am so glad the administration has finally publicly supported this fabulous legislation.
I’m so impressed by the amount of supporters this bill has. The Paycheck Fairness Act is going to sincerely increase a woman’s ability to have fair pair discrimination. I’m all for many of the ways this act would help woman.
The Prohibiting Employer Retaliation will help everyone learn about other’s wages and make sure that they are on the same level if they are doing the same amount of work.
It has been 80 years since the woman’s suffrage movement in the United States and its time to final increase our ability to have the same pay as our male equivalents.