I-Team investigates pay differences between women on Hagan ,Tillis staffs
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Sen. Kay Hagan's office released position and salary data Wednesday supporting a narrative Democrats have been pushing for weeks: that Hagan is better for women than her opponent, Republican House Speaker Thom Tillis.
TV and radio ads have hammered Tillis on positions he's taken on women's health issues and equal pay. Tuesday, state Democrats took another swing. They gave ABC11 a snapshot of what the Tillis' office staff looked like in May 2013.
Of 12 staffers, eight were men, and four were women. The men made, on average, $32,000 more than women. Why -- because men held the most senior positions.
"The speaker's 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 ABC11 to the current staffing in the speaker's office. It didn't look much different. Now, there are 11 staffers. Six are men, five are women. On average, men still make $30,000 more than their female colleagues. As before, that's because they have the most senior jobs.
Tillis' Press Secretary Meghan Burris gave ABC11 this statement Tuesday:
"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."
Burris added to it Wednesday:
"As a husband and father of a daughter in nursing school, Thom knows that our country still has a long way to go to achieve workplace fairness for women, and that's why he believes the government should punish employers who discriminate. The partisan legislation supported by Sen. Hagan won't solve the problem and would actually cost women jobs."
Tillis' campaign also directed ABC11 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 told ABC11 the Free Beacon reporter used a flawed methodology and only included women worked all of the 2013 fiscal year. She said the article missed at least two high paid female staffers and doesn't paint an accurate picture.
Spokesperson Sadie Weiner said 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. And a current snapshot shows Hagan's office staff makeup to be weighted even more heavily in women's favor.
According to data Hagan's office provided ABC11, she 47 staff members, more than half of whom are women. Of the nine people listed as directors on Hagan's staff, seven are women. And on average, women make $59,212, while men make $53,241.
"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."
