Hillary Clinton On Pay Equality: Women Deserve A Raise
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Hillary Clinton is marking one year since the day her campaign began with a roundtable discussion on pay equality.
During the event Tuesday in Manhattan, Clinton said women in America are being paid 79 cents for every dollar a man makes.
"Women all over America deserve a raise," Clinton said. "There's no discount for being a woman -- groceries don't cost us less, rent doesn't cost us less, so why should we be paid less?"
The Democratic presidential candidate said when she raises the issue, she's often accused of playing the gender card.
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"If talking about equal pay, and paid leave, and more opportunities for women and girls is playing the gender card then deal me in," she said.
Clinton was also very critical of the pay gap in private sector jobs and is calling for across-the-board transparency so that women know what they get paid is just as much as their male counterpart, 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck reported.
She called for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would expose pay gaps between women and men working in the private sector, and would prohibit retaliation against employees who ask what their coworkers make.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he looks forward to a time when girls are "astonished'' that women once made less than men and a female had never occupied the Oval Office.
Obama said he's not sure when that time will come, but "I know we're getting closer to that day.''
The president has not endorsed a successor, but his comment is the latest in a series that suggest he's rooting for Clinton.
Obama spoke at the Sewall-Belmont House in D.C. He is designating the one-time headquarters of the National Women's Party a national monument. The president noted the designation comes on Equal Pay Day -- a day that marks how much longer it takes a woman to earn as much as a man.
Democrats use the day to push Republicans to pass equal pay legislation and to court women voters.
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