2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumMartin O'Malley Op-Ed: 'When Women Succeed, America Succeeds'
Matt Sheaff @MattSheaff 2h2 hours agoWhen Women Succeed, America Succeeds - read @MartinOMalleys oped http://www.thegazette.com/subject/opinion/america-succeeds-when-women-and-families-succeed-20150914 #nhpolitics
America succeeds when women and families succeed
by Martin O'Malley
I am lucky to have spent my life surrounded by strong women.
My mother, Barbara OMalley or Mrs. O as generations of congressmen and Hill staffers know her has been U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulskis receptionist and gatekeeper for more than 30 years. At 87 she still keeps the Senate office in line, which is no surprise: her first job was at the age of 17, flying in the Civil Air Patrol during the Second World War.
She raised her six children to believe that every generation of Americans has the ability and the sacred responsibility to become great.
These are the lessons that my wife Katie and I have passed on to our own kids. And we are so proud of my daughters Tara and Grace OMalley for their hard work and service to their country, at the United Nations Foundation and as a first-grade public school teacher at Baltimore Citys Walter P. Carter Elementary.
So there is no doubt in my mind that my daughters will continue to strive to better this nation and follow their dreams. And I want both of them and all the other young women of their generation to have equal rights and opportunities at work, and to be paid every penny in wages of what they deserve.
Thats why, under an OMalley Administration, closing the gender pay gap would be one of the most important goals of the federal government one that Ive included in my 15 Goals to Rebuild the American dream. These national goals would guide my administration, day in and day out, as we build an economy that works for all of our children.
To get there, we need a clear, measurable road map for action. And because today in America women can be paid less than men essentially without penalty, the first step must be taking pay discrimination head on.
We can do this in several ways: by holding employers who do discriminate accountable, preventing retaliation against women who speak up, and empowering women to find out whether they are paid unfairly and to do something about it. This includes making pay data publicly available by sex, race, and ethnicity, so that all employees can see that theyre making a fair wage for their job.
But curbing pay discrimination alone is not enough. Part of the reason women are paid less than men for doing the same work is that many are forced to leave the workforce in order to raise their families, or penalized for doing so. Only 12 percent of American workers have access to paid leave, and 40 percent can lose their jobs for taking even unpaid leave to care for a newborn child. Whats more, child care costs more than public university tuition in a majority of states putting quality care out of reach for many families, and forcing some parents whod like to work to stay home.
If women decide to have families, they shouldnt have to choose between their career and taking care of their children. All parents both men and women, gay or straight, married or single should be able to take at least 12 weeks of leave, with pay, in order to care for newborn children or other loved ones. And no family especially low- and middle-income families should have to pay more than 10 percent of their income on safe, affordable child care in a given year.
Finally, we must lift wages for all workers, starting with increasing the minimum wage, to $15 an hour. Two-thirds of minimum wage workers today are women, and each and every one of them deserves a raise.
The good news is that solutions are on the table. Congress has brought the Paycheck Fairness Act to a vote, four times. Democrats have proposed the FAMILY Act, to give all workers access to family and medical leave. President Barack Obama has called for expanding child care subsidies, and we should go even farther so that every family that needs assistance receives it. Fast food workers and others are winning critical victories in the Fight for 15.
But its long past for time for action not just words.
In Maryland, we didnt just talk about creating economic opportunity for women. When I was Governor, we actually got things done. We expanded access to parental leave, and to quality pre-K education. We raised our states minimum wage, and passed the nations first living wage. We put our won Lilly Ledbetter Act in place to help protect women from pay discrimination. And we set, met, and exceeded one of the most ambitious goals in the country for directing state contract dollars to minority and women-owned businesses.
As a result of our better choices and investments, we made Maryland the best state in the nation for womens economic opportunity and security with a higher concentration of women-owned businesses than any other state, and the lowest gender pay gap in the country.
And as a nation, we can do the same. Progress is a choice. For our daughters and all of our children, we must choose a future of more opportunity including the full and equal compensation their hard work deserves.
read: http://www.thegazette.com/subject/opinion/america-succeeds-when-women-and-families-succeed-20150914
related:
Martin O'Malley's Views on Women's Rights Are Pretty Amazing Women's Advocates Think So, Too
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026763036
FSogol
(45,582 posts)Recursion
(56,582 posts)elleng
(131,370 posts)SouthernProgressive
(1,810 posts)Start catching on O'Malley.
elleng
(131,370 posts)and great programs and plans!
SouthernProgressive
(1,810 posts)I really don't even think it is all that close. He has every single aspect of what is necessary to campaign for the presidency. I have no clue why this race isn't between O'Malley on the left and Hillary as more of the centrist. Sorry if this is rude, but Sanders is an empty suit next to O'Malley. Sorry to add to this conversation knowing O'Malley supporters have stayed completely above the fray, but it is painfully obvious. I do think I know what I am missing. O'Malley thinks he can pull a surprise in an early state. We have seen how big momentum can be with an early win. He can't go for the outrage of the isolationists and far left as that has been taken by Sanders. Clinton has a lot of the middle sealed up. Something is going to have to give for O'Malley. I'm looking forward to the debates. I do think that is the place where the race might come down to O'Malley and Clinton. I don't think the lack of debates has really hurt Sanders. I do think it has seriously hurt O'Malley.
elleng
(131,370 posts)Debates will do it, indeed.
FSogol
(45,582 posts)Binkie The Clown
(7,911 posts)"If wives will have the same freedom as husbands, amid such freedom dogs, horses and donkeys will run around so freely that men have to yield the road to them."
Now that's the "traditional values" the Conservatives are trying to preserve.
Those attitudes are thousands of years out of date. It's time for all humans to be treated equally.