Subject: Granholm: Equal Pay For Women: 5 GOP Hopefuls Who Just Don't Get It
From: Brad Woodhouse <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 29 May 2015 08:42:27 -0400
List-Id: <ctrfriendsfamily.correctrecord.org>

Great Op-Ed from Jennifer Granholm on equal pay.

*The Huffington Post: Equal Pay For Women: 5 GOP Hopefuls Who Just Don't
Get It
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-m-granholm/equal-pay-for-women-5-gop_b_7464272.html>*

By Jennifer Granholm

May 28, 2015 5:31 p.m. EDT

It was more than twenty years ago, but I still remember the eloquent words
spoken by Hillary Clinton at the United Nations World Conference on Women
in Beijing. On that day, delegates from more than 180 countries heard
Hillary say, "If there is one message that echoes forth from this
conference, let it be that human rights are women's rights and women's
rights are human rights, once and for all."

If I knew in 1995 that we'd still be talking about gender-based income
inequality in 2015, I'd have been thoroughly depressed. It's a sad truth,
but Hillary Clinton's words are just as relevant in this country today as
they were in 1995. More and more women are struggling to get by with a
shrinking income, often working multiple jobs just in order to raise their
children and care for their families.

Too often, for too many of us, we get caught up in the politics of a
particular day. But equal pay for women is an issue that should be raised
every day -- especially with a presidential election looming.

I wasn't surprised to hear Hillary Clinton address this important issue in
a speech today in South Carolina. After all, she has been working to end
the wage gap all of her career. She has fought for women's rights,
advocated for women and girls abroad as Secretary of State, and worked as
First Lady and Senator to address equality at home and in the workplace.

In the Senate, Hillary Clinton consistently advocated for paycheck
fairness, introducing legislation to fight discrimination in the workplace
and co-chairing hearings on the need to close the wage gap between men and
women. Senator Clinton also was an original co-sponsor of the Lilly
Ledbetter Fair Pay act, signed into law by President Obama in 2009, which
expanded workers' rights to take pay discrimination issues to court.

Above all though, she understands that equal pay is not just about fairness
and women's rights, it's about strengthening our families and our country.
She knows that families rely on women for labor and income in the
household; as long as women and girls are valued less in the workplace,
families will have less to contribute to our country and our economy. In my
opinion, every candidate that enters this presidential race should have a
record of fighting to end inequality in the workplace. Instead, here's what
we have:

When asked if he supports the Paycheck Fairness Act to give women equal pay
for equal work, Jeb Bush replied, "What is the Paycheck Fairness Act?"

Marco Rubio repeatedly voted against equal pay legislation, calling it "a
welfare plan for trial lawyers."

Rand Paul voted against paycheck fairness legislation multiple times and
compared equal pay legislation to the Soviet Politburo.

Scott Walker repealed a Wisconsin law allowing victims of pay
discrimination to seek damages in state courts.

Ted Cruz voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act three times.

As Hillary said today in South Carolina, "what century are they living in?"
These Republican hopefuls simply don't get it. They don't get how important
this issue is for women who are trying to raise their families and keep
their heads above water -- and therefore how important this issue is to
America's future and prosperity.

The UN World Conference in Beijing was twenty years ago. Twenty years from
today, will we still be talking about this issue?

It depends on who you vote for in 2016.

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