Obama Administration Agenda On Women

“From the first moment a woman dared to speak that hope — dared to believe that the American Dream was meant for her too — ordinary women have taken on extraordinary odds to give their daughters the chance for something else; for a life more equal, more free, and filled with more opportunity than they ever had. In so many ways we have succeeded, but in so many areas we have much work left to do.”

–Barack Obama, Speech in Washington, DC

November 10, 2005

Fixing the Nation’s Health Care System: More than 19 million women are uninsured in this country, and women are more likely than men to delay or not get medical care because of high costs.

Empowering Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last twenty years.

Supporting Research into Women’s Health: Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women, accounting for nearly 39 percent of all female deaths. Also, arthritis, asthma, autoimmune diseases, and depression.

Fighting Cancer: Ovarian cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancer-related death among women in the United States

Reducing Health Risks Due to Mercury Pollution: More than five million women of childbearing age have high levels of toxic mercury in their blood and more than 630,000 newborns are born every year at risk.

Supporting Stem Cell Research: President Obama and Vice President Biden believe that we owe it to the American public to explore the potential of stem cells to treat the millions of people suffering from debilitating and life-threatening diseases.

Supports a Woman’s Right to Choose: President Obama understands that abortion is a divisive issue, and respects those who disagree with him.

Preventing Unintended Pregnancy: President Obama was an original co-sponsor of legislation to expand access to contraception, health information, and preventive services to help reduce unintended pregnancies. Introduced in January 2007, the Prevention First Act will increase funding for family planning and comprehensive sex education that teaches both abstinence and safe sex methods. The Act will also end insurance discrimination against contraception, improve awareness about emergency contraception, and provide compassionate assistance to rape victims.

Reducing Domestic Violence: One in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. Family violence accounted for 11 percent of all violence between 1998 and 2002.

Strengthening Domestic Violence Laws: Approximately 1,400 women a year — four every day — die in the United States as a result of domestic violence. And 132,000 women report that they have been victims of a rape or attempted rape, and it is estimated that an even greater number have been raped but do not report it.

Fighting Gender Violence Abroad: The genocide in Darfur has had particularly devastating consequences for women. Tens of thousands of women have been killed, raped, and displaced since the conflict began in 2003.

Fighting for Pay Equity: Despite decades of progress, women still make only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes.

Expanding Paid Sick Days: Today, three-out-of-four low-wage workers have no paid sick leave. It is fundamentally unfair that a single mom playing by the rules can get fired or lose wages because her child gets sick.

Investing in Women-Owned Small Businesses: Women are majority owners of more than 28 percent of U.S. businesses, but head less than 4 percent of venture-capital-backed firms.

Protecting Social Security: Americans are increasingly at risk of working their entire lives only to face retirement in poverty.

Raise the minimum wage: President Obama and Vice President Biden will raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit to make sure that full-time workers earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs.

Helping Low-Income Workers: The President and Vice President will invest $1 billion over five years in transitional jobs and career pathway programs that implement proven methods of helping low-income Americans succeed in the workforce.

Protecting Title IX: President Obama and Joe Biden support eliminating gender discrimination in American schools.

Expanding Early Childhood Education: President Obama has been a champion of early childhood education since his years in the Illinois legislature, where he led the effort to create the Illinois Early Learning Council.