U.S. Sen. Udall fails on pay equity
By Joshua Sharf | WatchdogWire.com
Despite heavy reliance on the “War on Women” theme during his tough re-election campaign, including pay equity, U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., pays his full-time women staffers considerably less than the men who work for him, an analysis by Watchdog Wire shows.
OOPS: U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., pays his women staffers less than the men he hires.
This stands in stark contrast to his campaign challenger, U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner, a Republican.
Data from the site Legistorm, show that, on average, Udall pays his women staffers 86-cents for every dollar earned by the men. The analysis covered fiscal year 2013 — October 2012 through September 2013 — and included only full-time staffers who had been on staff the entire fiscal year. The 17 women earned an average of a little more than $58,000, while the 14 men earned $67,300.
House staffs are much smaller.
Gardner employed only six women and four men for the fiscal year. However, Gardner’s office paid the women an average of $55,000, with the men earning a little more than $46,000.
The difference is almost completely accounted for by the senior staff positions. Udall hired men to serve in the higher-paid chief of staff and deputy chief of staff positions, while Gardner’s chief of staff was a woman.
