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Our Voices

"We have always lived comfortably and, over the past year, we have wiped out just about all of our savings and are on our way down the negative road. If I could get a job that paid well enough for us to get back on top, that would definitely ease the stress level."

"The one thing that really stresses me out is money and paying bills, making a monthly budget and trying to stick to it. Note that I say "trying" because there is always something that needs to be bought or repaired."

"I don't think my work is ever done, I feel like I'm working 24/7, 365 days, no breaks."

"Why can't I sleep? Why can't I find a job? What have I done? Have I failed my family? I hope mom doesn't get sick again."

"Trying to be super woman and do everything is difficult at times. My family expects me to be maid, cook, gardener, chauffeur all in one package. At times, I need to remind them that I have to work, too. They also tend to forget that I need time for me occasionally."

"I think it's more difficult for women to balance work and home life with kids. Yes, more women have created the opportunity to work outside the home but that has made having a life inside the home very tricky. Which is more important: job or family?"

"The only area I feel I have been treated differently (and still am) because I am a woman is in the salary area. The men who are doing the same thing I am and I might add, are not as successful, make significantly more."

"In the private sector, companies are not really held accountable for what they are paying men/women of equal background. They often self-report their numbers and few are challenged."

"The gap is clearly closing, but no one can say that women are treated equally. The fact that an act like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act even needed to be passed shows that we are not yet paid equally to men."

"I do not feel women are fully treated equally to men when it comes to salary and benefits, but there are rules in place that make companies "supposedly" give equal benefits and salaries to both genders so the gap in salaries are not as wide as they used to be."

"I have gotten fired from a job before because my daughter has been sick and I had to miss work."

"I agree that most of the time as a woman, you are seen as a liability because you can get pregnant and after that you will have kids that will get doctor's appt, they will get sick, you will have school meetings, etc. I believe all that could change if we have legislation that allows women to get at least 6 months paid maternity leave, of course it would be nice to have more, and also laws that protect us from being fired when pregnant but real protection (I know people who got fired when pregnant and there was nothing they could do)."

"Look in the mirror and tell yourself you are satisfied with how things are, how satisfied are you for your friend's life, your mother's, your sister’s, your daughter’s? Are you willing to sacrifice their future because you are too uninterested to care?"

"Most elected officials don't know what it is like to be poor and struggle with money."

"Women have a deeper understanding of the complex problems the whole family faces, children and adults. Women see life's issues from a different point of view than men and better understand the consequences of certain actions."

"I don’t understand why people in Washington keep trying to take away my birth control. Is this what we’ve come to? "

"Why is Washington DC so focused on my birth control? I should be able to make decisions about my family, not them. "

"The gap is clearly closing, but no one can say that women are treated equally. The fact that an act like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act even needed to be passed shows that we are not yet paid equally to men."