President Barack Obama made promises to millions over the course of his two-year campaign and now that he is in office, it is our job to make sure he keeps his word. What exactly did he ensure for the female population?
By Stephanie Isacco
Staff Writer
President Barack Obama made promises to millions over the course of his two-year campaign and now that he is in office, it is our job to make sure he keeps his word. What exactly did he ensure for the female population?
His main guarantees were strengthening domestic violence laws, advancing research in women’s health, supporting a woman’s right to choose, investing in women-owned small businesses, fighting for pay equality, and expanding paid sick days, among a few other things. A specific outline for the action the president intends to take concerning these and other women’s issues can be found on the White House website.
One can also tell what kind of problems he plans to address by looking at the records of the cabinet members he has surrounded himself with. To name a couple, Hillary Clinton holds the prestigious office of Secretary of State and has an impressive record of educational advancement of women and equality in the workplace, being the main sponsor for the Paycheck Fairness Act. Hilda Solis is the Secretary of Labor under Obama, and is a co-sponsor of the Healthy Families Act, which guarantees paid sick leaves. Solis has also voted for pay equity, paid parental leave, and for the reduction of college costs as well as being an active member in the passing of the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
Appointments have been approved for six female members of the cabinet, and Obama has also included a number of minority members. Obama’s attention to the skills and records of his cabinet members, as well as conscious regard for the demographics of the country has allowed him to create a diverse cabinet that mirrors society.
Obama appears to be making good on his promises because the first piece of legislation that he enacted dealt with pay equality. Luckily for women’s sake, President Obama, unlike his former opponent, feels that pay inequality based on gender is an injustice that occurs frequently in today’s society and warrants the attention of the government. On average, women make 76 cents for every dollar that men make.
The Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act is named for Lilly Ledbetter, a woman paid 40 percent less for doing the same work as the men she worked with at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. The legislation allows for a longer period of time for people to file claims for pay disparities starting at the time the disparities become known rather than when the disparities actually occurred. It was introduced near the end of the Bush administration, but was blocked in the last session of Congress.
Obama has only been president for about a month, and has already passed this crucial piece of legislation that will open the doors to pay equity for many women and minorities. His cabinet is stacked with public servants that have proven time and again that they are concerned with the issues that affect women in today’s society, so we should hold these men and women to their promises as well. As time passes, we will have the opportunity to criticize this president and his administration, but right now, all we can do is wait for someone to screw up or fail to meet our high expectations.