UPDATE 9/15/08: A new report from Seattle PI - Obama only talks good game on gender pay equity provides an additional report that Senator Obama talks about fair pay, but doesn’t deliver. However, Senator McCain actually employs more women than men and pays them better than the men.
Based on these calculations, Obama’s 28 male staffers divided among themselves total payroll expenditures of $1,523,120. Thus, Obama’s average male employee earned $54,397.
Obama’s 30 female employees split $1,354,580 among themselves, or $45,152, on average.
Obama’s criticism notwithstanding, McCain’s payment patterns are the stuff of feminist dreams.McCain’s 17 male staffers split $916,914, thus averaging $53,936. His 25 female employees divided $1,396,958 and averaged $55,878.
Original Article 6/30/08
Criticism of Senator Obama’s Unrealistic Promise of Equal Pay has taken on a new irony in that CSN News Network* has reported that McCain and Clinton pay their female staff better that Senator Obama. To further the irony, Senator McCain actually pays the women on his staff better than the men, while Senator Clinton pays men and women the same. Both McCain and Clinton hired more female staffers than male staffers; not Obama he has more men on staff than women and they are paid less than the men. According to the AP Senator Obama stated, “I’ll continue to stand up for equal pay as president — Senator McCain won’t, and that’s a real difference in this election.” There you have it; the difference in this campaign is rhetoric versus action.
“Non-intern female employees did better working on the Senate staffs of John McCain and Hillary Clinton during the latest public reporting period than they did working for Barack Obama, Cybercast News Service determined through an analysis of payroll data published by the Secretary of the Senate.
Both McCain and Clinton also employed more female than male staffers, while Obama employed more males than females. However, Obama’s staff was more balanced between male and female staffers than either McCain’s or Clinton’s.
Also, McCain and Clinton had more female than male staffers making six-figure salaries, while Obama had more male than female staffers making six-figure salaries.
The data were taken from the Report of the Secretary of the Senate, which covered the six-month period ending Sept. 30, 2007.
Only in the office of McCain, an Arizona Republican and his party’s presumptive presidential nominee, was the average salary for women higher than for men.”
*The CNS Link is no longer available; Hot Air also discusses this report at - Does Obama pay women less than men?
Hat Tip to Wake Up America for first reporting on this.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: equal pay, fair pay, women equality, women voters
What a silly, unfounded point. As a college professor, I am saddened by the logic of this hit-piece.
The difference in pay is probably based on the difference in the number of high level staffers that are male vs female.
If more are male, the average female pay will be less than male pay.
TA DA! Now a news outlet can say that McCain pays women better.
Equal pay for equal work is something Obama stands for. However, having more high level male staffers doesn’t mean it’s hypocritical to pay them more than low level female staffers.
Unfortunately, the link to the CNS News article is no longer active. Hot Air also reports on this story at http://hotair.com/archives/2008/06/30/does-obama-pay-women-less-than-men/ , but doesn’t have the numeric break down that CNS did. Their report stated (though it certainly should be questioned if their data has been removed) that the stats took into account the position and pay scale.
This site seems much more RED than Purple, but whatever.
Okay…
Since according to you people McCain pay women more higher than men, which I believe is a legend.
The big question now is?
Will McCain support or sponsor the ‘equal pay bill’ in the Senate?
You guys can blow all these hot smokes all you want, but when the subject of equal was tabled on the Senate floor, McCain VOTED AGAINST IT and Obama VOTED for IT period!
If McCain is now a “change agent” let him back another “equal pay” bill.
Until he does that, all evryone providing or posting positive comments on the above unproven “statistics” is just wasting his or her time!
Jeff Cook - if you are a college professor I hope you are teaching community organizing tactics and not math. Total dollars for males, divided by number of positions, and total dollars for females, divided by number of positions would yield an accurate average per position - and if different WOULD indicate pay variations based on sex - and as has been added by kmorrison33, took position responsibilities into account. Of course, McCain and Clinton also have more female staffers whereas the Uh-uh-uh-nnointed One has surrounded himself, both in his Senate office, as well as his campaign, with bloviating white men - change we can believe in.
The NeanderthalRube,
If McCain is so pro-women, why did he vote against the “Equal Pay Bill”?
All these comparison using their campaign data is nonesense.
If you guys are saying McCain is now a change agent, I challenge him to sponsor an “Equal Pay Bill” in the Senate.