Women's Rights
The Continued Fight for Women’s Rights
Jim is a proud, outspoken advocate of women’s rights. His daughters, wife, mother and sisters are strong, remarkable women and the source of his daily inspiration. He is surrounded by strong women and female activists who continue the fight to preserve how far we have come in the advancement of women’s rights.
Equal Pay and Economic Opportunity
Our society and our economy demand so much of women, yet on average women make 80 cents for every dollar a man makes, and for women of color it’s 63 cents.
That’s not right. And while the wage gap is closing, it isn’t happening fast enough. Jim is committed to reversing this injustice. One of his first votes in congress was for the Lily Ledbetter Act, which recognizes the realities of wage discrimination and requires employers to redouble their efforts to make sure that pay practices are non-discriminatory. He also co-sponsored and voted for improvements to the Equal Pay Act and the Paycheck fairness Act.
Jim supports increasing the penalties for wage discrimination on the basis of sex and making it illegal for an employer to retaliate against a female employee who investigates whether she is being paid less than her male co-workers.
Reproductive Freedom
The Supreme Court has made one thing clear: it’s coming for our rights, freedoms, and liberties. Nowhere is this more evident than the Dobbs decision and in 26 states that would restrict or ban abortion.
Jim knows a woman’s right to make her own choices is paramount, and it is critical this right should be universal. Today women across 26 states are at risk because legislators and justices feel entitled to dictate what a women can do with her body.
Jim stood against repeated Republican attempts to defund family planning and community health centers, and he opposed the Abortion Full Disclosure Act, which was an attempt to strong-arm insurers to stop covering legal abortions. Jim will continue to fight against these attacks.
Freedom from Abuse and Domestic Violence
Equal rights, equal pay, and reproductive freedom don’t mean much if a woman isn’t physically safe at home and in her relationship. We must do more to protect women from violence and abuse whether she is on campus or in her living room by preventing individuals subject to protective orders and former abusive partners from obtaining a gun or ensuring domestic violence-informed screening and access to services.
Jim was a proud co-sponsor of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019, which provides key funding and support for organizations nationwide working to keep women safe from abuse. All victims of domestic abuse deserve the full protection of the law.
Improving Health Care and Health Outcomes for Women
Access to high-quality healthcare is essential. That’s why Jim was a strong supporter of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which significantly reduced healthcare costs and care disparities women face.
The ACA allowed millions of women to access healthcare coverage and gain equal access to treatment by preventing insurers from charging higher premiums for women than man, denying pregnant women health coverage, and refusing to cover breast and cervical cancer screenings.
Affordable Childcare
Childcare falls disproportionately on women and finding quality affordable childcare has gotten harder and places a huge financial burden on working families. These disparities were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
That’s why Jim supported the Childcare is Essential Act and the Childcare for Economic Recovery Act, which provided immediate relief to suffering childcare centers and provided long term stability to the childcare industry.
