Just days after snagging the political spotlight, Morningside Heights is at it again.
U.S. Senator and former Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) will speak about achieving pay equity between men and women on Monday at Barnard College. The press conference will take place at 2 p.m. in Sulzberger Parlor, with a simulcast for students in the James Room.
According to Barnard officials, talks with Clinton’s staff regarding the appearance began Friday afternoon. Barnard spokesperson Alyssa Vine said that Sulzberger Parlor has a capacity of 80 people, and the James Room a capacity of 200 to 250. The Parlor will be reserved for members of the press, and students will be allowed into the James Room on a first-come, first-served basis. The doors will open at 1:30 p.m., and students will be required to show an ID.
Barnard President Debora Spar will give introductory remarks.
“Senator Clinton’s decision to hold this important event at Barnard College is testament to the College’s longstanding concern for and commitment to the key issues that confront women today,” Spar said in an e-mail Sunday night. “We live in an era in which women are supposed to be fully equal to men yet, as Senator Clinton will no doubt note tomorrow, women continue to lag behind men in what should by this point be an entirely straightforward relationship: equal pay for equal work.”
Barnard Dean Dorothy Denburg sent out an email Sunday night inviting select Barnard students, particularly “all majors in economics, political science, sociology, and women’s studies, as well as to students enrolled in History BC3567, American Women in the 20th Century, and American Studies BC3450, Women and Leadership, because we think the issues addressed in the press conference will be of particular academic relevance to you.”
Clinton shared Spar's enthusiasm.
“Barnard is an outstanding institution that has a long history of providing young women with the education and opportunities to become our nation’s next generation of leaders,” Eric Bederman, Clinton’s deputy press secretary, said in an e-mail. “As young women soon to be entering the workplace, it is important to recognize and meet the challenges they may encounter following graduation,” he said of Barnard students.
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and representatives from various advocacy organizations will join Clinton, according to a press release, which says the event will “call attention to the impact of the wage gap on women in New York and around the country.”
The press conference was triggered by a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office—an independent, nonpartisan “watchdog” that investigates congressional spending—which revealed that President George W. Bush’s administration has failed to enforce pay equity laws that require men and women to be compensated the same for the same amount of work. In a Sept. 10 announcement of the report’s findings, Clinton called them a “ringing indictment of the Bush administration.”
“This is an issue, not only for women but also for their children, their husbands who are working as well to bring in the money that keeps the household going,” Clinton said in her announcement.
She unveiled the findings in conjunction with Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). Clinton, Harkin, Maloney, and Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) requested the report from the GAO, which carried out the nonpartisan study. Clinton and others have supported legislation to eliminate pay inequities and strengthen pay discrimination laws.
Clinton also sponsored the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would enable groups of women to sue for wage discrimination more easily and reinforce the Equal Pay Act. It was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and was passed on July 31. The Senate has not yet voted on it.
Sarah Besnoff, BC ’09 and Student Government Association president said that Barnard is an appropriate choice of venue for the press conference. She cited the school’s commitment to political debate and women’s rights.
“I’m completely thrilled. It’s wonderful,” Besnoff said. “It speaks to Barnard College’s history and continued legacy of discourse on these types of topics. Senator Clinton has been nothing short of an incredible leader to the women of this generation.”
Chris Daniels, CC ’09 and president of the Columbia University Democrats, said that one of the Democrats’ board members will attend the press conference, while other members will likely watch the simulcast. Daniels praised Clinton’s choice of topic and location, noting her ties to the Seven Sisters schools. Clinton received her bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College.
“It is a huge issue facing our country,” Daniels said of pay inequity. “There’s nobody else better to be talking about it, and it’s a really good place for us to be talking about it as well.”
Clinton’s visit comes on the heels of Thursday’s ServiceNation Presidential Candidates Forum, which featured U.S. Senators and presidential nominees Barack Obama and John McCain in Roone Arledge Auditorium. Obama edged Clinton out for the Democratic nomination for president after a heated primary battle last spring.
Joy Resmovits contributed to this article.
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