If leadership starts at home, Joe Biden’s White House is leading the way on narrowing the gender pay gap, although a small differential remains.
According to salary data released Thursday, women in the Biden administration earn 99 cents for every $1 earned by men (the average salaries are $93,752 & $94,639, respectively). That’s far better than both the national average – 82 cents on the dollar – and the situation during the previous administration. In 2020, when Donald Trump occupied the Oval Office, women earned 69 cents on the dollar.
The 19th News provides context:
The gender wage gap is typically a “raw” figure that doesn’t adjust for experience, education, title or other factors. It simply looks at median wages. In past administrations, a lack of women in higher-paid positions widened the gap.
But Biden’s senior staff is majority female – 56% of the senior staff is made up of women, and 36% come from racially and-or ethnically diverse backgrounds, according to an annual report released yesterday.
In addition, the two highest paid people in the Biden White House are women: Immigration policy adviser Molly Groom earns $185,656, and senior policy adviser for broadband Elizabeth Hone earns $183,164. Press secretary Jen Psaki is paid $180,000 – the same as chief of staff Ron Klain.
“In alignment with the President’s commitment to diversity and pay equity, the White House has taken significant steps to ensure the White House staff reflects the diversity of the country and the highest standards economic and social justice for all,” a White House fact sheet released with the report read.
The White House has been forced to release pay data since 1995. In the Obama years, women earned between about 84 and 89 cents on the dollar, according to the American Enterprise Institute.