April 12 is Equal Pay Day — the day when the earnings of a typical woman, working full-time, have caught up to what a man made in the previous year.
President Obama took that day to recognize the new Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument.
"This house became a hotbed for activism. A centerpiece for the struggle for equality. A monument, not just for women's equality, but ultimately, for equality for everybody," said President Obama.
The house in Washington, D.C., is just blocks from the U.S. Capitol and was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1974.
Obama also took advantage of the day to call on Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would update the Equal Pay Act to give women more tools to fight pay discrimination.
Obama said he hopes future generations will visit the monument and learn how women fought for equality.
"I want them to be astonished that there was ever a time when women were vastly outnumbered in the board room or in Congress, that there was ever a time when a woman had never sat in the Oval Office," Obama said.
The video includes images from Getty Images.
