The White House, on average, pays female employees less than male employees, even as President Joe Biden calls for equal pay in the wider American economy, according to data analyzed by Mark Perry, an economist and senior fellow emeritus at the American Enterprise Institute.
The White House’s median salary for men in 2023 was $105,000, while women’s median salary was $84,000, according to the White House data analyzed by Perry. The White House asserted in June that women made 83 cents for every dollar a man made in 2022 and alleged that women are not paid, at least in part, the same as men for equal work, according to a blog post from the White House commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act.
“So what is hypocritical is that the White House constantly lectures the country about the gender pay gap, about 17% at the national level in recent years, and promotes the false narrative that 100% of the gender differences in median earnings are due to discrimination against women in the workforce without ever considering the dozens of factors that contribute to and explain the difference in median salaries between men and women,” Perry told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The White House is required to deliver a report to Congress every year with the title and salary of every White House Office employee, according to the White House website.
“One analysis found that occupational and industry segregation accounted for nearly half of the overall gender pay gap, and that the relative importance of occupation and industry factors in explaining the gap rose considerably over the period of study, 1980-2010,” according to the White House blog post. “The gender pay gap does not capture the full picture as women engage in the labor force in different ways and often have to consider their families’ care responsibilities alongside their employment.”
Women – working full-time, year-round – are paid 84 cents for every dollar paid to men. Those disparities are more pronounced for women of color and women with disabilities.
On Equal Pay Day, we call attention to an injustice that undermines women’s economic security. pic.twitter.com/qRJYHLV4XG
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 14, 2023
The 20% discrepancy in pay at the White House is attributable to the number of female staffers in entry-level positions, which are typically paid less than more senior-level positions, according to Perry. The top third of employees in terms of pay at the White House are 63.9% male and make between $168,000 and $183,000, while the bottom two-thirds are 65.7% female and make between $51,500 and $55,000.
“My analysis of White House salaries shows how men and women can get paid the same when working side-by-side doing the same job (which is the case at the WH every year), but you can still have an overall gender earnings gap comparing median salaries that has nothing to do with gender discrimination but can be explained by the multitude of other factors that contribute to earnings differentials between any two groups, including hours worked, continuous years of experience, the type of job, the relative danger or safety of different jobs, education, motherhood, marriage, family considerations, commute time, more men in senior positions at the WH vs. more women in entry-level positions, etc.,” Perry told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Comparing median salaries, whether at the WH or nationally, is an apples-to-oranges comparison that can lead to very misguided assumptions, corrections, etc.,” Perry said. “An apples-to-apples comparison of salaries, whether at the WH or nationally, overwhelmingly reveals that gender discrimination plays no or a very insignificant role in differences in median earnings between men and women.”
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation
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