Obama Pursues Female Voters

This week, Sen. Barack Obama has made a major effort to curry favor with female voters, particularly those who supported Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary.

He has continued the hiring of former Clinton staffers, including director of women's outreach Dana Singiser, and has backed a series of proposals to aid working-class women.

Obama's rapprochement with former Clinton supporters has been difficult. The first former Clinton staffer he hired was Patti Solis-Doyle, the New York senator's erstwhile campaign manager whom many blame for sinking the candidacy. Solis-Doyle has been hired as the chief of staff to the vice-presidential candidate. This has caused more hissing because many interpret this to mean Clinton has been snubbed as a No. 2.

Singiser could solidify support with her contacts and experience with women's groups.

Obama also hired Neera Tanden, Clinton's top policy wonk, in June.

Obama also has agreed to take on retiring Clinton's campaign debt, though reports suggest the effort is progressing slowly.

Wednesday, the campaign highlighted significant policy proposals targeted at working-class women.

Studies show that many women earn substantially less than men working in similar jobs. Currently, women earn about 77 cents on the dollar compared with men, and comparisons for minority women are even lower. Obama strongly supports equal pay for equal work. He co-sponsored and voted in favor of such an act in the Illinois Senate.

Earlier this year the Supreme Court disallowed the appeal of Lilly Ledbetter (Ledbetter vs. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.) by a 5-4 vote because she failed to file her suit in a timely fashion. Ledbetter had been a supervisor for Goodyear (GT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and found out years later that she had been paid less than her male counterparts. Advocates for women were outraged. Obama immediately joined a group of senators in co-sponsoring legislation to remedy the ruling: the Fair Pay Restoration Act. He also co-sponsors the Fair Pay Act.