Chloe Grace Moretz Shared Some Very Personal, and Very Important, Info About Her Mom in Her DNC Speech

Actress Chloe Grace Moretz spoke at the Democratic National Convention on July 28. (Photo: Getty Images)

Last night, actress Chloe Grace Moretz took to the stage for the fourth night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Philadelphia to talk about why, as a 19-year-old millennial, she will be casting her first-ever vote in a presidential election for former secretary of state and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton — and why her desire to see the gender wage gap addressed is a key issue for her in this election.

Moretz shared, “My amazing mother became a single parent when I was 13 years old. It wasn’t easy. She had to balance a job and caring for her family. Imagine the difference equal pay could make for today’s working moms and their families.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 70 percent of women with children under the age of 18 participate in the labor force. In comparison, 57.2 percent of all women work, meaning that the gender pay gap impacts working moms most significantly, and now more than ever. Compared with the 70 percent labor participation rate of working moms today, only 47.4 percent of mothers worked in 1975. And in 2013, 25 percent of all American families were helmed by single mothers, with 61.6 percent of single-mom families having at least one child under the age of 6 at home.

And yet, despite the thriving participation of women in the workforce and the pressing needs of single mothers who often support young children, what these women earn for their work, frankly, doesn’t add up.

White women earn on average only 78 cents on the dollar when compared to white male peers, and things are worse for women of color. Hispanic women earn 54 cents on the dollar compared to white men, and African American women earn 63 cents on the dollar compared to white men.

The “motherhood penalty”

The National Partnership for Women and Families explains that mothers in the U.S. who work full-time earn 71 cents on the dollar compared to fathers who work full-time. This is due to something called the “motherhood penalty,” or the persistent cultural stereotypes that cause people to believe that women who are also moms are worth less — and are less productive workers — than their nonmother female peers, let alone men. And single mothers fare worst of all, earning just 58 cents on the dollar for full-time work compared to fathers who also work full-time. According to the National Partnership, eliminating this wage gap for single, working mothers would translate as 3.5 years worth of food for a single mother’s family, 16 more months of mortgage and utilities payments, 25 more months of rent, 35 more months of child care, and 9,539 more gallons of gas.

Moretz’s candidate of choice, Hillary Clinton, has been a vocal advocate for closing the gender pay gap by promoting pay transparency, and by seeing the passage of and signing the Paycheck Fairness Act, a piece of legislation that Clinton introduced while still a senator from New York that would make it illegal for someone to be fired for asking what others in their organization make to determine if they are experiencing wage discrimination because of their gender. Clinton was also one of the original co-sponsors of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Meanwhile, Republican nominee Donald Trump has dismissed the reality of the gender pay gap. Despite that, Ivanka Trump tried, during her speech at the Republican National Convention, to make a case for why her father is a great candidate for women voters and for millions of women and young working mothers in particular. She promised that a vote for her father would translate into a resolution of the gender pay gap, along with paid family leave and an end to the discrimination women often face in the workplace if they choose to grow their families while also trying to develop their career.

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