Although the two executive orders signed by President Obama today will “[not] affect the broad American work force,” they did allow him an appearance with Lilly Ledbetter and a gang of other women in the East Room of the White House, where he challenged Republicans to do something that will actually address the wage gap.
“Some commentators are out there saying that the pay gap doesn’t even exist,” said Obama. “They say it’s a myth. But it’s not a myth. It’s math.”
Others, like the American Enterprise Institute, say the White House is part of the problem, paying women, on average, 88 cents to a man’s dollar.
“What I can tell you is that we have as an institution here have aggressively addressed this challenge, and obviously, though, at the 88 cents that you cite, that is not a hundred, but it is better than the national average,” said White House spokesperson Jay Carney. “And when it comes to the bottom line that women who do the same work as men have to be paid the same, there is no question that that is happening here at the White House at every level.”
“If Republicans in Congress want to prove me wrong, if they want to show they in fact do care about women being paid the same as men, then show me,” said Obama, who’s now resorting to double-dog dares to get laws passed.
