President Fields CLT Women Questions on Pay Gap
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CHARLOTTE, NC — President Obama fielded questions at the Uptown library ImaginOn from Charlotte women and bloggers.
“As a mother of two daughters, how would you suggest I best empower them to work hard, get a good education, if they know from the outset they’re going to be paid less than their male counterparts?” asked Charlotte Orthopedic Nurse Ashley Taylor.
Women make 78 cents on the dollar compared to a man, according to a Pew Research and White House study. African American women earn 64 cents on the dollar, and Latin women earn 54 cents
on the dollar.
That was the common theme throughout the President’s visit with 50 women bloggers on tax day.
Lisa Stone, CCO of lifestyle media platform “She Knows”, moderated the discussion.
“I do feel like Americans are being systematically robbed,” said Stone. “When you take dollars out of a woman’s paycheck or you underpay her, you’re taking money out of the wallets of men and children.”
The President appealed to what he says are the nonpartisan aspects that unequal pay undoubtedly leaves the government with less money, families with less money and children with less money.
“I guarantee you, the majority of Republican voters, they support equal pay for equal work,” said President Obama. “But when it gets to Congress, somehow it becomes a political issue.”
Congress failed for the fourth time last April to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act.
“Some of them dispute that it’s a problem. They say it’s a woman’s choice,” said President Obama.
As a Charlotte Orthopedic Nurse, Taylor says men her line of work typically make $5,000 more than a female nurse.
“We work just as hard,” said Taylor.
Mayor Dan Clodfelter listened in the front row.
“We see it everywhere. I think the city has done a really good job at trying to address pay equality in the city’s positions,” said Clodfelter. “Problem is, we don’t see that spread across the whole economy.”
“What we need to do is just build a movement,” said President Obama.
