Congresswoman Suzan DelBene took a shot in the war on women in Kirkland two weeks ago, according to the Seattle Times. She said that women are paid 77 per cent of men, claiming that gap on the “real-life consequences of the gender wage gap.” She, however, is exemplary; she pays her female employees 78 per cent of male employees.
But when you point out that her own data shows she commits the very sin she decries, her staff spokesperson says you just don’t understand. The men do different jobs - better jobs. In her office the issue is equal pay for equal work. In her politics any difference is clear evidence of discrimination.
And she is incensed that the Republican National Congressional Committee (NRCC) did the comparison using full-time employees who have been employed for at least a year. That sounds reasonable. But it comes up with a worse number - 53 per cent - so she blames the Republicans for bad math. Again, it is her own data. And the Seattle Times helps her by putting her claim in the sub headline high on its home page today, saying the Republicans' math is wrong.
The Sea Times could cover the difference in analysis in the article without helping her reelection campaign by puttiing her view high on its home page. And the difference is not math - the calculation - but is how to choose which set of employees are included. The NRCC made a reasonable choice, but it made the Times’s congresswoman look bad.
The April 30 Kirkland event referred to in the first paragraph is covered here - Kirkland Reporter - but it does not contain the DelBene quote cited by the Seattle Times.
No comments:
Post a Comment