"...Equal pay is by no means just a women's issue -- it's a family issue.... And in this economy, when so many folks are already working harder for less and struggling to get by, the last thing they can afford is losing part of each month's paycheck to simple and plain discrimination.... Ultimately, equal pay isn't just an economic issue for millions of Americans and their families, it's a question of who we are -- and whether we're truly living up to our fundamental ideals; whether we'll do our part, as generations before us, to ensure those words put on paper some 200 years ago really mean something -- to breathe new life into them with a more enlightened understanding that is appropriate for our time...."
President Barack Obama, on signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, January 27, 2009

“The world today is vastly different than it was in 1983, but sadly, one thing that has remained the same is the pay gap between men and women. After accounting for so many external factors, it seems that still, at the root of it all, men get an inherent annual bonus just for being men. If this continues, the only guarantees in life will be death, taxes and the glass ceiling.”
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14), who, along with Rep. John Dingell, released results of new GAO report on women's earnings, Nov. 20, 2003

“Discrimination is still a reality, even when it takes different forms. Instead of Jim Crow, there is racial redlining and profiling. Instead of ‘separate but equal,’ there is separate and forgotten. Strong civil rights enforcement will be a cornerstone of my administration.”
Former Governor George Bush, NAACP Annual Convention, Baltimore, July 10, 2000

“Some say that market forces will take care of the wage gap. If we had relied on market forces, we would have never passed the Civil Rights Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, or the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), May 11, 2000

“Discrimination is against the interests of business...Yet business people often practice it. In the end, the costs are higher, less real output is produced, and the nation's wealth accumulation is slowed.”
Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, in a speech to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Washington, D.C.
The Boston Globe, March 23, 2000

“The folks at Wimbledon recently rejected a request to give female players the same amount that the male players get...the women are carrying the promotional load and bringing fans through the turnstiles. They should be paid accordingly.”
John McEnroe, New York Times, June 6, 1999.