【文章內(nèi)容簡(jiǎn)介】 that reality. So while many women are working hard tosupport themselves and their families, they’re still facing unfair choices, outdated workplacepolicies. That holds them back, but it also holds all of us back. We have to do better, becausewomen deserve better. And, by the way, when women do well, everybody does well. (Applause.)
　　So women deserve a day off to care for a sick child or sick parent without running intohardship. And Rhode Island has got the right idea. You’re one of just three states where paidfamily leave is the law of the land. (Applause.) More states should choose to follow your lead.
　　It was interesting talking to some of the small business owners in the meeting. They weresaying how the Rhode Island law actually helped them do a better job recruiting and retainingoutstanding employees. And so that shows you something that this is not just a nice thingto do。 it’s good policy. It’s good for business. It’s good for the economy. (Applause.)
　　Without paid leave, when a baby arrives or an aging parent needs help, workers have to makepainful decisions about whether they can afford to be there when their families need themmost. Many women can’t even get a paid day off to give birth to their child. I mean, there are alot of panies that still don’t provide maternity leave. Of course, dads should be there, let’s make this happen for women and for men, and make our economy stronger. (Applause.) We’ve got to broaden our laws for family leave.
　　Moms and dads deserve a great place to drop their kids off every day that doesn’t cost theman arm and a leg. We need better childcare, daycare, early childhood education policies. (Applause.) In many states, sending your child to daycare costs more than sending them to apublic university.
　　AUDIENCE MEMBER: True!
　　THE PRESIDENT: True. (Laughter.) And too often, parents have no choice but to put theirkids in cheaper daycare that maybe doesn’t have the kinds of programming that makes a bigdifference in a child’s development. And sometimes there may just not be any slots, or the bestprograms may be too far away. And sometimes, someone, usually mom, leaves the workplace tostay home with the kids, which then leaves her earning a lower wage for the rest of her life as aresult. And that’s not a choice we want Americans to make.
　　So let’s make this happen. By the end of this decade, let’s enroll 6 million children in highquality preschool, and let’s make sure that we are making America stronger. That is good forfamilies。 it’s also good for the children, because we know investing in highquality earlychildhood education makes all the difference in the world, and those kids will do better. So weneed family leave, we need better child care policies, and we need to make sure that women getan honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work. (Applause.)
　　About 28 million Americans would benefit if we raised the minimum wage to $ an hour (applause) like Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed support. And let me say this: Minimumwage those aren’t just teenage jobs that are impacted. We’re not just talking about youngpeople. My first job was at Baskin Robbins. And I got paid the minimum wage and it was that hat and the apron was (laughter) yeah.
　　But the truth is, the average worker who would benefit from an increase in the minimum wageis 35 years old 35. A majority of lowwage workers are women. A lot of them have now, somebody working fulltime on the minimum wage makes $14,500 a year $14,500. If they’re a parent, that means they’re below the poverty line. Nobody who worksfulltime in America should be below the poverty line. (Applause.) They should not be raisingtheir kids below the poverty line. I am not going to give up this fight. And we needRepublicans in Congress to stop blocking a minimum wage increase and give America a raise. (Applause.)
　　And if a woman is doing the same work as a man, she deserves to get paid just like the mandoes. (Applause.) Even though it’s 2020, there are women still earning less than men for doingthe same work. And women of color face an even greater wage gap. (Applause.) And at a