Obama: Women should be 'equal partners' in economy

President Obama said Friday that he will continue pushing for policies designed to make women "full and equal partners" in the American economy.

"When women do well, everybody does well," Obama told a supportive audience at Rhode Island College in Providence.

Obama listed plans that include new laws for paid family leave, day care, equal pay requirements with men and an increase in the federal minimum wage.

The president also described the new health care law as a boon for women in the workforce.

Women's issues are a major part of Democratic campaigns heading toward Election Day on Tuesday.

In addition to numerous U.S. House and governor's races, the Democrats are locked in a fierce battle with Republicans for control of the U.S. Senate next year.

Many Republicans have made Obama the major election issue, saying his tax and regulation policies are slowing the economy for women and men.

Obama — who spoke at election rallies this week in Wisconsin and Maine — is scheduled to campaign this weekend in governor's races in Michigan, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, as well as for a Senate race in Michigan.

As he has at previous appearances this week, Obama told Rhode Island College students that the economy has recovered from the financial meltdown of 2008 but some people still feel left out.

"We're better off than we were," Obama said. "But millions of Americans don't yet feel the benefits."