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THE WHITE HOUSE PAY GAP.
An enterprising college student, Ariel Boone, has used the White House staff/salary list to do some digging on gender and pay disparities. Here's what she found:
- On average, a White House woman earns $9,168 less than a White House man.
- A woman’s median WH salary is $57,314, while a man’s median WH salary is $65,000.
According to Boone's research, the gap is due to women being clustered in lower-level positions, while men are more likely to have executive jobs. This chart breaks it down:
It's not surprising that the White House -- an extremely elite, competitive place to work -- follows the same patterns we see in the private sector, of women being outnumbered in top positions and over-represented among "assistants." Just a reminder that even in progressive politics, we have to stay vigilant about mentoring young women, promoting them, and offering both women and men the work-life balance that allows them to maintain careers as they get into their thirties and forties and begin having kids.
--Dana Goldstein
COMMENTS (4)
Thanks to Ariel for breaking this down. Useful for next time someone brings up those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling!
Posted by: Noticed | July 14, 2009 11:57 AM
Looked at another way, women in the White House earn 85% of what men earn, which is above the national average (which is still around 81%, and that's for equivalent work, right?). That's not exactly heartwarming, but put in context the White House could be doing worse.
Posted by: Nicholas Beaudrot | July 14, 2009 12:11 PM
These silly Feminist Pay Gap myths have been debunked and PROVEN FALSE for at least 10 years.
Take the time to read the debunking of Feminist Lies. This is all over the internet.
Newsflash: Feminists Lie Often!
Posted by: Lauren Hall | July 14, 2009 5:50 PM
Newsflash: Liberals always lie!
Posted by: Antimedia | July 15, 2009 8:26 PM