I-Team: Democrats say Thom Tillis isn't paying women staffers equally
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- There's little question Democrats have been trying to paint U.S. Senate challenger and Republican House Speaker Thom Tillis as having a "woman problem."
You see it on TV and hear it on the radio: spots hammering Tillis on positions he's taken on women's health issues and equal pay.
And now, State Democrats are at it again.
They provided ABC11 with a snapshot of what the staff in Tillis' office looked like in May 2013, both in terms of pay and position.
Of 12 staffers, eight were men, four were women. And men made, on average, $32,000 more than women.
The reason is clear when you dig into the numbers: the men held all the senior positions.
Democrats say that just strengthens their position.
"The speakers staff, on average pays men significantly more than women," said North Carolina Democratic spokesperson Ben Ray. "Obviously it's a small sample size but we believe that it's instructive on multiple levels, including the number of women, or in his case the lack there of, of women in powerful positions in the office."
Tillis' office, taking issue with the dated information, pointed us to the current staffing in Tillis' office, but it didn't look much different.
Now, there are 11 staffers. Six are men, five are women. But, on average, men still make $30,000 more than their female colleagues. And, as before, that's because they have the most senior jobs.
No one from Tillis' office would go on camera with us today but Tillis Press Secretary Meghan Burris did give ABC11 this statement:
"Thom strongly believes that women deserve equal pay for equal work and that any discrimination in the workplace should be punished to fullest extent of the law. Moreover, the policies that President Obama and Senator Hagan have passed have lessened opportunities, wages, and options for women. As women, we have suffered disproportionately under the Obama/Hagan agenda. Thom Tillis is the only candidate in this race who will stand-up to President Obama's failed policies and fight for common-sense measures that create opportunities for women and help all North Carolinians realize their American Dream."
Tillis' campaign also directed us to an article in the conservative Free Beacon that said Sen. Hagan has a pay problem of her own; that in 2013, she was paying men on her staff - on average - $15,000 more than women.
A spokesperson for Hagan's campaign says the reporter didn't include women who didn't work the full 2013 fiscal year and doesn't paint an accurate picture.
Spokesperson Sadie Weiner says data for the duration of Hagan's time as senator shows that women in her office make, on average, almost $2,000 more than men and work more hours. Data provided to ABC11 by Hagan's office says currently, her male staff members are paid, on average, $53,009; female staffers are paid $59,180.
"We work very hard both on the campaign and on the official side to make sure that men and women are represented well within organizations that Sen. Hagan controls," said Ben Ray. "You'll see both from the averages and the individual breakdown that Sen. Hagan has a strong core of both men and women surrounding her."
