Obama Jokes About Equal Pay

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 18 June 2014

President Obama cracked an equal pay joke while at a roundtable discussion in Pittsburgh Tuesday. "I will say, the first lady's kind of a bad example because the first lady doesn't get paid. And she works pretty hard," Obama said. He then noted, "Obviously, we're ok."

The discussion beforehand was about how family-friendly policies were good for business. The White House has pushed equal pay legislation that would provide additional protections for female workers, but the bill stalled in Congress earlier this year.

All jokes aside, the wage gap is no laughing matter. Obama's joke had a point — lots of women are working hard for little pay. Women continue to make 77 cents to every man's dollar and also make up two-thirds of minimum-wage workers.

The pay gap is a serious problem for women, even worse in certain states and industries. Obama knows it, we know it, and it's time major corporations realize this must change.

Photo Credit: Getty Images