Economic upturn needs strong women

Women's economic security and jobs are vital to a U.S. economic recovery, the White House said ahead of a women's forum Friday hosted by President Barack Obama. Obama, courting women's votes ahead of the presidential election, was to point out in the forum how his administration recognizes women as "key to economic growth and competitiveness" and to outline "ways the administration has helped create economic security for women," the White House said Thursday night. Obama was to speak to the White House Forum on Women and the Economy from 10:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. EDT, the White House said. His remarks were to be buttressed by a White House Council on Women and Girls report making the case that the administration, through jobs and other means, helps women have the financial resources they need to support a standard of living through all stages of life, the White House said. "From access to affordable education for young women to supporting women at work and at home, to ensuring security for women in retirement, the administration is committed, across all agencies and departments, to do everything it can to create an economy built to last for America's women," the White House said, using the "built to last" phrase Obama borrowed from the auto industry. The president has used the phrase to describe his blueprint for economic growth in which the wealthy play by the same rules as ordinary Americans. Topics to be addressed during conference breakout sessions include education, women at work, entrepreneurship, healthcare, and violence against women and girls, the event's agenda indicated. The forum comes at a time when Obama and other Democrats generally enjoy significant leads in polls with female voters over their Republican rivals, seven months before the Nov. 6 election. A USA Today/Gallup Poll released Monday shows a shift in women's support gives Obama a 9 percentage point lead over Republican Mitt Romney in a dozen key battleground states, 51 percent to 42 percent. A month ago Obama trailed Romney by 2 percentage points. The survey of 933 registered voters, taken March 20-26, has a 4-perdcentage point margin of error. The swing states surveyed are Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. The White House said Thursday Obama believes women should be admitted to Georgia's all-male Augusta National Golf Club, site of The Masters Tournament, which began Thursday. "We're kind of long past the time when women should be excluded from anything," White House spokesman Jay Carney said, acknowledging the club has a right to make its own decision. At a campaign stop in Pennsylvania Thursday, Romney also said he thought Augusta National should admit women as members. "I'm not a member of Augusta. I don't know if I would qualify -- my golf game is not that good -- but certainly if I were a member and if I could run Augusta, which isn't likely to happen, but of course I'd have women in Augusta. Sure," he said. The private club, started in 1933 on the site of a former plantation, had no immediate comment about its membership policy.