Barack Working on Women's Issues

Showing his interest in women’s issues, Barack Obama held a town hall meeting with a few dozen women at a library in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Monday.  The theme of the meeting was discrimination in the workplace and family strains on working women.  Obama said when he hears about inequality in the workplace, it “makes his blood boil,” and he hopes his daughters won't have to face it.  One only has to look at his plans to improve the lives of women in America to see how he is willing to fight for women's rights.

With the economy in the toilet and a lack of daycare programs, it's been hard for women to get by and provide for their children (especially single mothers).  Because women only get seventy-seven cents for every dollar a man makes, the struggling economy has made things worse for them.  Barack has a plan to fund daycare and after school programs for children and has supported laws that will help women earn equal pay.  Since women are also most likely to live in poverty, he has plans to give poor women better health care and programs that will help them get the skills to obtain a job.  He also promises to help fund programs protecting women and children who are victims of domestic violence.  So many women are afraid to ask for help in a domestic violence situation, and Barack will make sure that they will be protected and get the help they need.

Because American women can't get the health care they need, Barack wants to fund programs for women's health research.  Many women suffer from heart disease, breast cancer, HIV/AIDS and ovarian cancer, yet they get denied the same treatment men get.  He wants to pass laws that will help educate women about these diseases, how to prevent them and make sure women with these disease get the best treatment.

Barack also supports programs that help girls do better in school and encourage them in Math and Science.  He wants every girl and woman to have access to a decent education and a chance to go to college.  To ensure that college is more affordable, he is proposing a tax credit that is fully refundable.  Most girls and women who are low-income go to schools that don't teach them the skills they need and have no opportunity to go to college.  With his tax credit, college can finally be obtainable for them.

American women face so many obstacles today, and Barack understands that.  He understands the struggles that women go through trying to balance children and a career, and he wants to make that easier for them.