Valerie Jarrett joins Twitter to urge passage of Paycheck Fairness Act

Valerie Jarrett joined Twitter on Monday as part of a White House push for the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Excited to be on @twitter & hear from you! A woman earns just 77¢ for every $1 a man does. Join me & support #EqualPaywh.gov/equalpay

— Valerie Jarrett (@vj44) June 4, 2012

Jarrett, tweeting @vj44, is a long-time senior aide to President Obama and a high-profile female member of the administration.

Her first tweet criticized the gender pay gap and directed new followers to a White House page urging passage of the bill. The administration has launched a strong social media push in favor of the bill, offering illustrations using statistics to claim "the wage gap isn't a myth" that are optimized to share on Facebook and Google Plus pages. Because many White House staffers are active on Twitter, many on Monday also used the hashtag #EqualPay, sending the hashtag spiking in usage between 9 and 11 a.m.
 
The Senate is expected to vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act on June 5.

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