In his speech Monday commemorating the 50th anniversy of the Equal Pay Act at the White House, President Barack Obama cited the recent Pew Research Center study that found that 40 percent of women are the primary breadwinners in their families, despite the fact that the average woman makes 77 cents for every dollar a man earns.
“Now, what’s important to realize also, though, is this is not just an issue of fairness,” Obama said, according to a White House transcript. “This is a family issue. This is a middle-class issue. This is an economic issue. Just last week, a report confirmed what we already know: that women are increasingly the breadwinners for American families. Women are now the primary source of income for nearly 40 percent of American families. Forty percent — almost half.
“That’s not something to panic about, or to be afraid about -– that’s a sign of the progress and the strides that we’ve made. But what it does mean is that when more women are bringing home the bacon, they shouldn’t just be getting a little bit of bacon,” he added. “If they’re bringing home more of the income and that income is less than a fair share, that means that families have less to get by on for childcare or health care, or gas or groceries. It makes it harder for middle-class families to save and retire. It leaves small businesses with customers who have less money in their pockets — which is not good for the economy. That’s not a good example to set for our sons and daughters, but it’s also not a good recipe for long-term, stable economic growth.”
