Pennsylvania Women: Stronger Together

Hillary’s Plan for an Economy that Works for Everyone, Not Just Those at the Top

Hillary Clinton is committed to building an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. While America and Pennsylvania have taken tremendous strides when it comes to expanding economic opportunities for women — many women still face barriers to entering and advancing in the workforce. Hillary believes that issues that affect women’s lives are family issues, economic issues, and crucial to our future competitiveness.

In her first 100 days in office, Hillary will break through Washington gridlock to make the biggest investment in good-paying jobs since World War II. An independent analysis by Mark Zandi, a former economic advisor to John McCain, recently calculated that under Hillary’s plans the economy would create 10.4 million jobs in her first term alone. By contrast, Zandi found that Trump’s plans would result in a “lengthy recession” and a loss of 3.4 million jobs.

If these job gains and losses are distributed evenly among the states in proportion to their populations, Zandi’s analysis suggests that Pennsylvania would see a gain of 414,000 jobs under Hillary’s plans and a loss of more than 135,000 jobs under Trump’s plans — a difference of 549,000 Pennsylvania jobs.

Elements of Hillary’s Plan to Expand Economic Opportunities for Pennsylvanian Women include:

• Increasing the minimum wage. Women represent about two-thirds of all minimum-wage workers in Pennsylvania. Hillary will raise the minimum wage, which will help close the gender pay gap, increasing the incomes of hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania, and lifting Pennsylvania women and families out of poverty.
• Fighting for Equal Pay. Hillary will fight for equal pay so that our workplace policies match how families in Pennsylvania work today. In 2014, Pennsylvania women working full time, year-round had median earnings of $39,905 — just 79 percent of what the median man made ($50,412). When combined, Pennsylvania women who are working full time lose over $19 billion every year due to the wage gap. Hillary understands these policies need to change.
• Put Pennsylvania Families First by Securing Paid Family Leave. No one should have to choose between keeping their job and taking care of a sick family member and no woman should have to go back to work immediately after giving birth. Yet, a quarter of all women in America return to work less than two weeks after having a child. Under Hillary’s plan, Pennsylvania workers — men and women — will be guaranteed up to 12 weeks of paid family leave to care for a newborn child or a seriously ill family member, such as an elderly, ailing parent. This paid family leave policy will impact the 93,000 working families in Pennsylvania with a newborn child each year.
• Eliminate college tuition for working families. Today, 57% of college and graduate student enrollees in Pennsylvania are women. Under Hillary’s plan, families with incomes up to $125,000 — more than 86% of Pennsylvania households — will pay no tuition at in-state public colleges and universities. From the start, every student from a family making $85,000 a year or less will be able to go to a four-year public college or university tuition-free. By 2021, an estimate of about 141,000 Pennsylvanian students with a family income of $125,000 or less will have the opportunity to pay no tuition. Hillary will also continue her commitment to ensure that Pennsylvania’s 88,000 community college students get their education tuition-free.
• Cut taxes and reduce red tape so that small businesses can grow and hire. Small businesses create two-thirds of new American jobs, fuel innovation, and offer a crucial ladder to prosperity for hardworking entrepreneurs all across the country. Pennsylvania is home to one million small businesses, which employ 2.4 million people. Of these businesses, over 270,000 are owned by women. Hillary will fight to ensure that small businesses can spark job creation in America’s low-income and undeserved communities by cutting red tape, expanding access to capital, providing tax relief, and expanding access to new markets.
• Make quality, affordable childcare a reality for families. Hillary believes it’s time to recognize that quality, affordable childcare is not a luxury — it’s a growth strategy. Women are now the primary or co-breadwinners in two-thirds of American families with children. Yet, out-of-pocket childcare costs have soared by nearly 25 percent during the past decade. America’s families need relief. That is why Hillary will make investing in childcare a national priority. She has also proposed increasing funding for on-campus childcare.
• Support scientific research and technological innovation. Hillary will make bold new investments in scientific research in Pennsylvania, which will create entirely new industries and the good-paying jobs of the future. These investments will put special emphasis on minority and women advancement in the fields of research, technology, and engineering. Together, we can achieve bold research goals, like preventing, effectively treating, and making an Alzheimer’s cure possible by 2025. And we will pursue public policies that spur technological innovation in Pennsylvania and ensure that technology is a force for broad-based growth.
• Provide tax relief for Pennsylvanians caregivers. Hillary will provide tax relief to many of the 1.6 million Pennsylvanians that provide some level of care to elderly or disabled family members. She will count the hard work of family caregivers toward Social Security, expanding access to family caregiver respite, supporting paid family leave for caregivers, and creating a new Care Workers Initiative across the federal government.
• Secure Pennsylvania toddlers access to high-quality preschool. Currently, 106,000 4-year-olds in Pennsylvania who do not have access to a publicly-funded preschool program. Hillary will ensure that every 4-year-old in the state has access to high-quality preschool within 10 years.