A female Republican Minnesota representative told advocates of the Women’s Economic Security Act- a bill that works to give women the same economic opportunities as men- at a hearing last week that they looked like “whiners”.

Representative Andrea Kieffer said:

“We heard several bills last week about women’s issues and I kept thinking to myself these bills are putting us backwards in time. We are losing the respect that we so dearly want in the workplace by bringing up all these special bills for women and almost making us look like whiners.”

Listen for yourself.

Demanding that women get equal pay for equal work and a fair shot in Minnesota’s economy isn’t whining. It’s common sense.

WESA–the package of bills Kieffer opposes–includes a handful of measures to help women achieve the same financial success as men. It includes bills to provide increased access to high quality childcare, to expand family sick leave, to enhance provisions for domestic violence, and to encourage women to seek out non-traditional, high-wage jobs.

But conservatives appear to disagree with these sentiments. Over the weekend, Kieffer’s local Republican group came to her defense on Twitter:

Rep. Kieffer maintains that working to improve economic security sets women back 50 years, even though women in Minnesota earn only 80 percent of what men earn.

Thankfully, our progressive leaders know how important it is to ensure that Minnesota women have a fair shot, and are committed to making real progress for Minnesota by passing WESA.