Barack Obama

“ Most women 65 and over get a majority of their income from Social Security. Without Social Security, more than half of all elderly women would be living in poverty. I will stop any efforts to privatize Social Security and will work in a bipartisan way to preserve it for future generations. In addition, my Automatic Workplace Pension program will offer working women left out of the retirement savings system an eas, automatic and productive way to build wealth for retirement. ”

“ And by increasing the minimum wage adn indexing it to inflation, we can help close the wage gap by increasing the pay of low-wage workers who are disproportionately women.
Another step we can take to reduce the wage gap is to support policies that help women better balance work and family – which will in turn increase their participation in the labor market. As the father of two young daughters and the husband of a working woman, I am intimately familiar with the challenges faced by parents who also work outside the home. ”

“ In order for women to better compete in the workplace, I will continue pushing for increased female representation in jobs where women have been underutilized and will ensure that tax dollars are not underwriting employment discrimination: federal contracts should only go to companies that obey the law. To help the ever-increasing number of women entrepreneurs, I will increase women's access to federal contracting opportunities by implementing the Women Owned Business contracting program that was launched by President Clinton by has been abandoned by President Bush. ”

“ Over the past eight years alone, women across the natio have faced stagnating wages, declining health care coverage, erosion of pension protections, rising personal debt, and have been hard hit by the housing crisis. As president, I will dedicate myself to improving the lives of women through pay equity, access to education, investment in women-owned businesses, policies to help manage work-life balance, affordable healthcare, reproductive choice, and violence prevention. ”

“ The issues you mention are crucial to working women and their families and they are extremely important to me. BPW/USA's leadership and activism on these issues has been critically important, and I look forward to working with you on both the issues you mention specifically and further initiatives to redress the inequalities of women in the workplace and other areas. It is time for leadership that acknowledges the vital contributions of women to our society and that enables and encourages even greater achievement and participation. ”

“ An estimated 21.5 million women currently lack health insurance. As president, I will pass a plan that covers every American and will lower a typical family's premiums by as much as $2,500. In addition, I will see that research is undertaken and attention given to combatting diseases and illnesses that disproportionately affect women, like heart disease, ovarian cancer, and breast cancer. ”

“ Thank you again for all BPW/USA does for women in this country. I look forward to working with you in the coming months and years to build an America for our daughters that is more just, more equal, and more free. ”

“ Keeping women safe and healthy also requires us to redouble out commitment to stopping the violence that is committed against women in this country. One in four women suffers from domestic violence in her lifetime. ”

“ This will directly benefit the vast majority of working women – 71 million in all. I will also provide a raise for 8 million working women who earn the minimum wage by increasing it to $9.50 an hour by 2011. And I will expand the Earned Income Tax Credit to benefit 5 million working women – because in this country of all countries, if you work you should not be poor.
We also have to end the pay gap that leaves working women earning 23 percent less than working men – a disparity that is even more pronounced for African American and Hispanic women. ”

“ And my plan to eliminate capital gains taxes on start-up and small businesses will provide meaningful tax relief to 8.7 million women small business owners, helping them to invest, grow their businesses and create jobs. ”

“ It starts with making sure that women are not just getting by in our economy, but getting ahead. That's why I've proposed a broad middle class tax cut to provide up to $500 per person, or $1000 per working family in direct tax relief. ”

“ We also need to ensure job security for victims of sexual assault, up to half of whom report losing their jobs as a result of being attacked. In Illinois, I led the fight to ensure that victims could seek shelter or treatment without losing their jobs, passing one of the strongest job protection laws in the nation. ”

“ The Convention affirms the reproductive rights fo women, supports women's political and economic rights, and highlights the importance of eradicating violence against women. Ratifying this treaty will make the U.S. a more active ally in the international fight to eradicate violence against women, and it will serve as a model that can inspire individual states to take steps to reduce violence against women. ”

“ Combined with my plan to match 50 percent of the first $1000 of savings for families that earn under $75,000, this proposal will increase retirement savings opportunities for the 45 million working women who currently lack any employer-sponsored retirement plan. ”