Well we knew that President Obama had some supreme tastes in television, but he took it to the next level by referencing great television in the State of the Union address. He used Mad Men as an example for inequality in the workplace, and while that isn’t the most flattering of examples one can find, it does prove that he does watch the show. From Mediaite:
Today, women make up about half our workforce. But they still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. That is wrong, and in 2014, it’s an embarrassment. A woman deserves equal pay for equal work. She deserves to have a baby without sacrificing her job. A mother deserves a day off to care for a sick child or sick parent without running into hardship – and you know what, a father does, too. It’s time to do away with workplace policies that belong in a “Mad Men” episode. This year, let’s all come together – Congress, the White House, and businesses from Wall Street to Main Street – to give every woman the opportunity she deserves. Because I firmly believe when women succeed, America succeeds.
That’s one way to make people pay attention. I think the nicest bit here is that it might’ve worked according to Sen. Amy Klobuchar. From Politico:
Speaking to MSNBC after the speech Tuesday night, Klobuchar praised Barack Obama’s “Mad Men” reference in regards to equal pay for women, and also the response it got from lawmakers.“One of the most surprising moments was when he talked about that we’re not living in a ‘Mad Men’ episode,” the Minnesota Democrat said. “When he said we should have equal pay for equal work, and not making seventy cents on the dollar, Republicans in mass were standing up and cheering.”“I just want to make sure their vote is where their applause line is, and that they vote for us and with us on the paycheck fairness act,” she said.
That or the Republicans were all just big fans of Mad Men. Or holding women back. Or maybe they were just happy to not be trapped in a television show.
(Lead image via gettyimages / AMC)
