Gillibrand Makes A Seneca Falls Stop To Talk About Workplace Equality

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand used the backdrop of the First Presbyterian Church in Seneca Falls on Saturday to outline a five-point package of legislation she says would ensure more working women have a fair shot at earning financial security.

Gilibrand spoke at the First Presbyterian Church in Seneca Falls, where suffragist leader Alice Paul argued that the right to vote alone would not end discrimination based on gender and first drafted the Equal Rights Amendment.

Gillibrand contends that America’s outdated workplace policies have failed to keep pac with the demands on the new workforce. The senator’s American Opportunity Agenda would create paid family and medical leave, increase the minimum wage, make quality affordable child care accessible, provide universal pre-k, and ensure equal pay for equal work. . 

“The face of the American workforce has changed significantly with the dramatic increased participation of women,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The key to a growing economy – the key to a thriving American middle class in the 21st century – is women. We have to equip more working women with the tools and the opportunities needed to achieve their best in the economy, and their best for their family.

Among the legislation Gillibrand is pushing for is the Paycheck Fairness Act which she says helps close the pay gap by empowering women to negotiate for equal pay, closing loopholes courts have created in the law, creating strong incentives for employers to obey the laws, and strengthening federal outreach and enforcement efforts.