Millions of women are living at or below the poverty line, despite the fact that they have jobs. In her new documentary, "Paycheck to Paycheck: The Life & Times of Katrina Gilbert," Maria Shriver hopes to bring light to one of the most challenging situations facing America today. With Oprah and an audience full of women living paycheck to paycheck, Shriver explains why she believes this is the story of our times.
"Because this is where the vast majority of Americans find themselves," Shriver says. "Without savings. Living paycheck to paycheck. Dying under student loans. Not being able to get up over the brink."
"Seventy percent of all minimum wage workers are women and they can't live," she continues. "They can't live in our country on that salary."
Sargent Shriver, Maria's father, was asked by Lyndon Johnson to lead the war on poverty 50 years ago. Today, Shriver wants to make sure the conversation continues and is pushing to reform the way we support families who are struggling to make it to the next paycheck.
"This is so important," she says. "Because I think when Daddy started the war on poverty under Johnson, Johnson used his pulpit as president to talk about the vast majority of Americans who were struggling. At that time, women were primarily in the home, and government's job was to come up with these programs. I think now we see that women are in the workplace, and they're looking for businesses to support them. So there's a lot that can be done by business, by government, and by women and men."
"Oprah & Maria Shriver: The 'Paycheck to Paycheck' Town Hall" airs Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on OWN.
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