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President Obama won the women’s vote four years ago, and he’ll need to again to win reelection, given Mitt Romney’s strength among male voters. Here are some of the women’s issues on which the candidates differ.
Lilly Ledbetter joins Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D) of Nevada during a news conference on Capitol Hill on June 5, as the Senate considers the Paycheck Fairness Act.
(Scott Applewhite/AP/File)
4. Equal pay
According to US Census data, women earn 77 cents to a man’s dollar for the same work and level of experience.
In 2009, Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which allows women more time to file wage-discrimination lawsuits. Obama also supports the Paycheck Fairness Act, which aims to make it easier for women to prove wage discrimination but has yet to clear both houses of Congress. The legislation pressures employers to prove lack of discrimination in wage differences, and makes it easier for employees to reveal information about their salaries.
In June, the Romney campaign replied to a request from MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow for comment, but did not specifically take a stand on the legislation.
“Gov. Romney supports pay equity for women,” a Romney spokesperson wrote. “In order to have pay equity, women need to have jobs, and they have been getting crushed in this anemic Obama economy, losing far more jobs than men. As president, Mitt Romney will create a pro-jobs business climate that will put all Americans back to work.”
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