“The National Partnership for Women & Families has been a leader on work/family policies and family-friendly workplace initiatives for decades, and has fought for fair pay for all of its history. We welcome today’s announcements, not just because they bring attention to these issues, but because they position them as what they are: bread-and-butter issues that are essential to the economic security and well-being of tens of millions of working families.

At a time when more women are in the workforce than ever, families increasingly rely on women’s wages, and elder care and other caregiving responsibilities are growing, we urgently need Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Millions of working women also will benefit from the Administration’s commitment to improve data collection on wage discrimination and increase equal pay enforcement. And the Administration’s steps to collect data about work-family needs, clarify use of Family and Medical Leave for modern families, and continue the national conversation on workplace flexibility are critical steps forward for working families.

Today should be a beginning, not an end. The nation needs quick and substantial progress in creating the workplaces that middle class — and all — families need.”