I just remember when my first child was born I called the personnel office and I asked them about their leave policies. And they said, "Leave policies? Women just leave and they don't come back." And I said, "But I want to come back." They said, "We have no leave policy." And then they said, "Why don't you apply for disability?" Well, having a child is not a disability.
Carolyn MaloneyI would say that the race of Hillary Clinton was very important to this country, because it showed that a woman could win the state, that a woman could raise money. I think that every woman is sitting a little taller, not only in our own country, but I think women around the world watch what's happening in the United States.
Carolyn MaloneyIn America, we have long stood by the principle that the protections of the law are not meant just for some.
Carolyn MaloneyWhen I started working, women were working at 59 cents to the dollar. We got a raise, but it's still unfair. We're still 16 percent of Congress, even though we're 51 percent of the population. We're a low percentage of our CEOs. We're a low percentage of boards and being part of boards.
Carolyn MaloneyIn my research, I found that since 1979, women have lost the equivalent to one night's sleep due to the pressures of balancing work and family. And as more women have gone into the work force because they have to, and when you discriminate against a woman's pay you discriminate against her children or her husband or her significant other in terms of what the family income is.
Carolyn MaloneyWe have not ratified The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Among Women. I think 194 countries have signed onto it, but the United States has not. And CEDAW to the United Nations is what the Equal Rights Amendment or the women's equality amendment is to the United States. I think we should pass the women's equality amendment and a lot of these other fights would go away.
Carolyn Maloney