We’ll talk about drycleaners next, right - (laughter) - because I know that - I don’t know why it costs more for Michelle’s blouse than my shirt. (Applause.) That’s just one more place where things were not fair. (Applause.) And that’s true for everybody. I know it’s Equal Pay Day and not Obamacare Day - (laughter) - but I do want to point out that the Affordable Care Act guarantees free preventive care, like mammograms and contraceptive care, for tens of millions of women, and ends the days when you could be charged more just for being a woman when it comes to your health insurance. More than 7 million Americans have signed up for health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Now, the good news is today our economy is growing businesses have created almost 9 million new jobs over the past four years. And restoring that opportunity for every American - men and women - has to be a driving focus for our country. (Laughter.)Īmerica should be a level playing field, a fair race for everybody - a place where anybody who’s willing to work hard has a chance to get ahead. (Laughter.) It's not right and it ain’t right. That’s like adding an extra six miles to a marathon. A woman has got to work about three more months in order to get what a man got because she’s paid less. Equal Pay Day means that a woman has to work about this far into 2014 to earn what a man earned in 2013. (Applause.) And our job is not finished yet. And it's nice to have a day, but it's even better to have equal pay. We’re here because today is Equal Pay Day. And I want to give a special thanks to the members of the National Equal Pay Task Force, who’ve done outstanding work to make workplaces across America more fair. (Applause.) I want to thank all the members of Congress and all the state legislators who are here and all the advocates who are here, because you all contributed to that effort. And some of the leaders who helped make that happen are here today, including Leader Pelosi and Senator Mikulski and Congresswoman DeLauro. (Applause.) First bill I signed into law. The first time Lilly and I stood together in this room was my tenth day in office, and that's when we signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. And when the courts didn’t answer her call, Congress did. But she was getting systematically paid less.Īnd so she set out to make sure this country lived up to its founding, the idea that all of us are created equal. Working just as hard, probably putting in more hours. She was doing the same job - probably doing better. Sometimes when you - when we discuss this issue of fair pay, equal pay for equal work, and the pay gap between men and women, you’ll hear all sorts of excuses about, well, they’re child-bearing, and they’re choosing to do this, and they’re this and they’re that and the other. And then one day, she finds out, after years, that she earned less than her male colleagues for doing the same job. She was just somebody who was waking up every day, going to work, doing her job the best that she could. (Laughter.) They want your face.Īs Lilly mentioned, she did not set out to be a trailblazer. (Laughter.) People don't want my mug on there. And, Lilly, I assure you, you remain the face of fair pay. Well, thanks to my friend, Lilly Ledbetter, not only for that introduction but for fighting for a simple principle: Equal pay for equal work.
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