First Female Speaker of Virginia House of Delegates, First Female President Pro-Tempore of Virginia Senate Praise Joe Biden’s Agenda for Women

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 27, 2020

First Female Speaker of Virginia House of Delegates, First Female President Pro-Tempore of Virginia Senate Praise Joe Biden’s Agenda for Women

Today, Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, first female Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, and Senator L. Louise Lucas, first female President Pro-Tempore of the Virginia Senate, praised Biden’s agenda for women. This agenda is a comprehensive approach to making sure our government’s policies represent women. It includes ensuring an equitable economy, expanding access to health care, helping women manage work and families, ending violence against women, and addressing challenges facing all women.

In Virginia:

• Women make up roughly half of the population yet as of 2018, they earned less and had higher percentages of poverty compared to men. In fact, Virginia women only earn on average 80 cents to every dollar a man makes.
• In Virginia, the median annual income for women is $11,000 less than the median annual income for men.
• Virginia is the tenth state with the most expensive infant care, disproportionately impacting women.
• Virginia women rank below the national average for health coverage for women.

Biden’s plan will work to dismantle the barriers to success that Virginia women face, and create opportunities for all Virginia women. Below is what women who broke barriers in Virginia are saying about the agenda:

“I was proud to be elected Speaker by a Virginia House of Delegates that includes more women than at any time in the General Assembly’s 401 year history. And I am even more proud that our new Democratic majority kept our promise to pass laws that have already begun to improve the lives of Virginians in every corner of the Commonwealth,” said Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, first female Speaker of the VA House of Delegates. “It is time we have someone in the White House who is committed to making sure his running mate, political appointees, and our entire federal workforce are reflective of the country they serve. Joe Biden will be that president, and he will tackle the ways women are disproportionately impacted by policies like the economy, health care, education, and national security.”

“It took 400 years for Virginia to have its first female and first African American Senate President Pro Tempore. For 400 years, our legislative body did not reflect the diversity in our Commonwealth and the policies it enacted reflects that,” said Senator L. Louise Lucas, first female and African American Senate President Pro Tempore. “Women, particularly women of color, have never had a fair shot to get ahead in this country. This will change next January when Joe Biden is sworn in as president. He will ensure women have equitable access to our economy, expand access to our health care, and end violence against all women.”

The full agenda can be found HERE.