Women in the Workforce &
Minimum Wage
The current full time minimum wage worker makes only $14,500 dollars a year. That leaves a family of four struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis. In Obama’s State of the Union address, he called for a change. “No one who works full time should have to raise a family in poverty.” The president is asking Congress to raise the national minimum wage from $7.25 to $9, enabling a boost in the wages of millions, and greatly contributing to an increase in parent’s ability to provide for their family. 60% of the benefiting employees will be women, but thats not all Obama is putting in place to ease the financial burden of women. Women tend to make $.77 for every $1 a man makes. To relieve this strain, Obama is calling for legislation to compensate women for maternity leave and child sick days. The recent Equal Pay Day required full disclosure of pay discrimination between men and women with the same job, in attempt to minimize these discrepancies. We’re taking a step in the right direction, but can Congress do more?