Political Quotes

“Mr. President, women make invaluable contributions to our families, communities, and workplaces. Thankfully, the opportunities for women in the workplace have grown tremendously over time and in recent decades, and there is no doubt that, without exception or qualification, they should always be treated equally and receive equal pay for the same work as their male counterparts. This week, the Senate considered proceeding to a bill called the Paycheck Fairness Act--one that was directed at achieving this goal by addressing the gender pay gap. But if we truly care about supporting and empowering women in the workplace, it is important that we understand exactly what the pay gap is and what exactly it can tell us about women's experiences. So what is the pay gap? Well, first, there is a crucial distinction that we have to make between the unadjusted pay gap and the adjusted pay gap. When most people refer to the gender pay gap, they mean the unadjusted pay gap, or the comparison between the median man's pay and the median woman's pay, based only on sex. According to this measure, the median earnings of women are 18 percent lower than men. But the unadjusted pay gap leaves out key pieces of the puzzle. In reality, there are many other factors that influence pay for individual men and women, such as industry, occupation, experience, education, performance, and in particular, family decisions.…”