DIVA'S NEWS AND VIEWS!: 03/12/11

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Obama keeps focus on fight for women's equality!

(AP) Father of two girls, President Barack Obama says he wants to improve the status of women in the United States.

Women are more likely than men to graduate from college today, yet earn less on average, face a greater chance of living in poverty and are outnumbered in critical subjects such as math and science, he said in his weekly radio and online address Saturday.

"Achieving equality and opportunity for women isn't just important to me as president. It's something I care about deeply as the father of two daughters who wants to see his girls grow up in a world where there are no limits to what they can achieve," he said.

Obama noted that one of his first acts as president was to sign legislation allowing women who've been discriminated against in their salaries to have their day in court. Obama said he was disappointed when the Senate blocked action on a proposal that would treat gender discrimination involving pay in the same as race, disability and age discrimination.

The Senate in November fell just short of the votes needed to overcome GOP opposition and move ahead on the bill, which would make employers prove that any disparities in wages are job-related and not sex-based.

"At a time when folks across this country are struggling to make ends meet — and many families are just trying to get by on one paycheck after a job loss — it's a reminder that achieving equal pay for equal work isn't just a women's issue," the president said in his weekly radio and online address. "It's a family issue."

He said he would not relent in fighting for the goals of that legislation. He also said women on average make about 75 cents for each dollar a man earns and are more likely to fall in poverty.

Republicans and business groups said the Paycheck Fairness Act would expose employers to more litigation by removing limits on punitive and compensatory damage awards.

*Very interesting and truly about time that someone does something about how women seem to be treated when it comes to being paid. There's more opportunity for women to make bank, but less of those top of the line "boss" roles. For years women have fought for equality in the work place and elsewhere in society. It's very sad that women are still fighting for that in these times. Hopefully with President Obama at the wheel, things can get done so that women have a fighting chance to prove their cases and make more bank, even if it's more than their male counterparts. I guess if it takes more time, then women can always continue to start their own companies and forge ahead that way instead of still fighting these egotistical men for well deserved pay.*

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