Hillary Clinton And Donald Trump On Equal Pay For Equal Work

It pays to look like Donald Trump — which is to say the wage gap is real and women of all races make less than white men for doing the same work. Unequal pay is bullshit; women work hard, do the same work, and should be compensated accordingly.

It’s important to note, however, that progress has been made and the wage gap is closing. The Pew Research Center analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and found white women have closed the pay gap to 82 cents while black women have narrowed the gap to 65 cents for every dollar a white male earns. Hispanic women make the least (58 cents) while Asian women earn slightly more (87 cents) than white women.

It’s time we right the utter nonsense of pay inequality by looking at where Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton stand on the issues of women and work.

Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, supports pay equality at least in theory. However, in practice it’s hard to pin him down. Mr. Trump claims to “cherish” women, often using his wife, Melania, and daughter, Ivanka, as examples of his feminism within the Trump organization, yet his official position on the gender pay gap remains elusive.

Mr. Trump has no official policy for the wage gap listed on his campaign website. He told MSNBC hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough that “women should have absolute access to capital.” He then added, “If they do the same job, they should get the same pay.” Yet his campaign has no official policy on pay equality. Moreover, according to data examined by The Boston Globe, the Trump presidential campaign employs few women and pays them less than their male colleagues. In fact, one former staffer is suing the Trump organization for sex discrimination. In the complaint, the former staffer alleges she was paid less and not allowed to plan or speak at rallies unlike her male colleagues.

The Democratic nominee for president, Hillary Clinton, believes when women lose money through pay discrimination, the American economy also loses. Mrs. Clinton’s website goes to great lengths to explain how women will benefit from her presidency.

At least two-thirds of all minimum wage workers are women. Mrs. Clinton believes in order to address fairness in pay, the minimum wage must be raised. By raising the minimum wage, millions of low-income women who work in the service industry will be closer to closing the wage gap.

As a New York Senator, Mrs Clinton introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act which sought to “punish employers who retaliate against employees who share wage information,” and allows workers to sue for wage discrimination, among other protections. Unfortunately, this bill never became law.

As part of her economic plan, Mrs. Clinton would also work to make the Paycheck Fairness Act a reality, adding employment protections for women the likes of which the country has never seen. Moreover, Mrs. Clinton proposes 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for every employee, and access to affordable daycare. Finally, Mrs. Clinton would like to expand Obamacare to universal healthcare.

Hillary Clinton’s proposals are bold in the recognition that in order for the country to thrive, we must lift women up using new initiatives and protections that delve into paychecks, health care, legislation and paid time off. Donald Trump may insist on his website that “the Trump plan promotes economic freedom for women,” yet he doesn’t even mention how women will be paid fairly — that’s not “economic freedom”; it’s ineptitude.