The executive director of the house museum. [applause] over the years page and her staff have helped care for this house preparing every crack pipe and patching every leaking roof. We are grateful for their stewardship. A note was not easy. It will pay for equal work should be a fundamental principle of our economy. Its the idea that whether you are a High School Teacher a Business Executive order professional Soccer Player or tennis player your work should be equally valued and rewarded. You are a man or a woman. Its a simple idea, simple principle, one that our leader of the democratic houses and fighting for for for four years. One worry still fall short. Today the woman who works full time earn 79 cents for every dollar that the typical man makes and it the typical black woman make some and 60 cents and a latina woman in 55 cents for every dollar thaa white man earns. If we truly value fairness america should be a level Playing Field where everyone gets a chance to succeed. Thats, good for america because we dont want some of our best players on the sideline. Thats why the first bill that i signed as president was the Lilly Ledbetter fair pay act. Earlier this year in the anniversary of that day the equal Employment Opportunity commission and the department of labor act at two began collecting annual data on paid by gender race and ethnicity. This action will strengthen enforcement equal pay laws ardila books and help employers address pay gaps on their own. To build on these efforts Congress Needs to pass the paycheck fairness act to put sensible rules in place to make sure [applause] to make sure employees dont face retaliation by their employers. Im not here just to say we should close the wage gap. Im here to say we will close the wage gap and if you dont believe me [applause] if you dont believe that we are going to close that wage gap dump them come into this house because this house has the story of the National Womens party whose members thought to have their voices heard. These women first organized in 1912 with little money, with hopes for equality for women all around the world. They wanted an equal say over their children over their property there earnings their inheritance, equal rights for their citizenship and a say in their government come equal opportunities for schools and universities, worked vases, Public Service and guest equal pay for equal work. They understood that the power of their voice in our democracy was the first step in achieving these broader goals. Their leader alice paul was a brilliant Community Organizer and political strategist. She recruited women and men from across the country to join their cause. They began picketing seven days a week in front of the white house to demand their right to vote. They were mocked, they were divided, they were arrested, they were beaten, they were forced feedings during hunger strikes and through all this women young and old kept marching for suffrage. They kept protesting for suffrage. In 1920 the one that right. We ratified the 19th amendment to the suffrages didnt stop there today moved into this Historic House in these rams stepped away from the capital and drafted speeches and letters and legislation. They pushed congress and bought for the passage of the equal rights amendment. Advocated for the inclusion of women in the u. N. Charter and the 1964 Civil Rights Act made a campaign for women running for congress. This house became a hot head of action, centerpiece for the struggle for equality, a monument a fight not just for womens equality but equality for everybody. Its one of the things we have learned that the effort to make sure that everybody is treated fairly is connected and so today i am very proud to designate it as americas Newest National monument. The Belmont Paul Womens Equality National Monument right here. [applause] and we do this to help tell the story of the suffrages in newsrooms for which they pursued the ideals which shouldnt be relegated to the archives and history. You shouldnt be behind glass cases because the story they are fighting is our story. I want young girls and young boys to come here 10, 20, 100 years from now to know that women flocked for equality. It was not just given to them that i want them to come here and be astonished if there was ever a time when women could not vote. I want them to be astonished there was ever a time when women are less than men for doing the same work. I want them to be astonished that there was ever a time when women were vastly outnumbered in congress. That there was ever a time when a woman had never sat in the oval office terry. [applause] i dont know how long it will take to get there but i know we are getting closer to that day because of the work of generations of active committed citizens. One of the interesting things when i was looking through some of the rooms they were susan b. Anthonys desk and Elizabeth Cady stantons chair and you realize those early suffrages had receded alice paul by a generation. They had passed away by the time the vote was finally granted to women and it makes you realize that i say this to young people all the time, that this is not a sprint. This is a marathon. Its not the actions of one person, one individual but a collective effort where each generation has its own duty, its our responsibility, its own role to fulfill and advancing the cause of our democracy. Thats why we are getting closer because i know there is a whole new generation of women and men who believe so deeply that we have got to close these gaps. I have faith because what this house shows us is the story of america is the story of progress and will continue to be a story of progress as long as people are willing to keep wishing and keep organizing and yes keep voting for people committed to this cause to restore quality for every american but im hoping again generation will come here and draw inspiration from the efforts of people who came before them and women won the right to vote in alice paul who lived most of her life in this house said it is incredible to me that any woman should consider the right for equality to be done. Its just begun and thats the thing about america, we never finished. We are in constant work in progress in our future belongs to every free woman and man who takes up the hard work of citizenship to win full equality in shape her own destiny. Thats a story that this house tells. Its now a National Monument and young people will be inspired for years to come. It would not have happened without the extraordinary efforts of many the people in this room not only their active support of this house then yet it also the outstanding example that they are setting, that you are setting. Im very proud of you. Congratulations. Thank you very much. [applause] [applause] now a look inside the belmont paul National Monument. American history tv toward the Historic Site in 2001 was known as the civil Belmont House and service a Museum Dedicated to womens rights. This is a halfhour. I am the assistant director and they soon will Belmont House and capitol hill in washington d. C. Ive been here for 10 years and have been in collections which means i do the exhibits and interpretations and i manage our historic collection of suffrage and equal rights artifacts. The house is one of the oldest houses on capitol hill. It was built by a man named Robert Sewell in 1800 payday was one of the only houses here in d. C. To be deliberately burned by the british during the war of 1812. A british soldier and his troops are passing by the house and some american troops were here in the house and they shot a horse out from under british general so the story goes. The british burned the house in retaliation. The house was rebuilt by 1820 we believe the majority of it was probably burned to the ground. He was rebuilt in 1820 and Robert Sewell passed it on to his family so it stayed in the Sewell Family until 1920. It was taken over by senator porter dale and his wife who were from vermont in 1920 and they lived here until 1929 and was taken over by the National Womens party in 1929. The womens party was a Civil Rights Organization run by a woman named alice paul. The nationalist party worked from 1931 was founded until the late 90s for social political