"Fifty years ago today, President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, right here in the White House. He said it was basic to our democracy. It's the idea that all of us are created equal. And as I said in my inaugural address this year, our journey to equality is not complete until our wives, our mothers, our daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. The day that the bill was signed into law, women earned 59 cents for every dollar a man earned on average. Today, it's about 77 cents. So it was 59 and now it's 77 cents. It's even less, by the way, if you're an African American or a Latina. So I guess that's progress, but does anybody here think that's good enough? I assume everybody thinks we can do better."—President Obama, in remarks in the East Room earlier today on the 50th Anniversary of the Equal Pay Act.
1. It has taken 50 years to move the average pay gap 18 cents closer to parity. IT HAS TAKEN 50 YEARS TO MOVE 18 CENTS. Get it the fuck together, US employers.
2. Still with the "wives, daughters, mothers" construction. Okay.
3. "I assume everybody thinks we can do better." Um, I don't. Because if "everybody" thought that, then there wouldn't be people who pay women less than men. But I guess shaming the people who actually make the decision to exploit female workers doesn't go over very well when they're the ones who pay for your party to win (or not win) elections.
Shakesville is run as a safe space. First-time commenters: Please read Shakesville's Commenting Policy and Feminism 101 Section before commenting. We also do lots of in-thread moderation, so we ask that everyone read the entirety of any thread before commenting, to ensure compliance with any in-thread moderation. Thank you.
blog comments powered by Disqus