Obama again decries the gender pay gap, even though women on his staff earn only 88 cents for every dollar earned by men

From Mark Perry of "Carpe Diem."

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The Hill reported yesterday that:

President Obama will host women of Congress at the White House for a Wednesday meeting in the administration’s latest bid to focus attention on its economic policy priorities ahead of the midterm election.

The White House Council of Economic Advisers will release new data in conjunction with the meeting showing that women earn just 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man, and the wage gap increases for women of color.

“In the 21st century, why aren’t women earning equal pay? So how can we close that pay gap?” White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett asked CBS News on Wednesday.

The meeting will feature female Democrats from the House and Senate, along with the president and Jarrett. Obama, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) are expected to speak at the top of the meeting.

MP: If Obama is really serious about the gender pay gap, he should start by addressing the significant gender pay gap that exists in his own White House, where female staffers earn just 88 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts (see chart above). Specifically, according to a detailed analysis of salary data from the “2013 Annual Report to Congress on White House Staff,” the 229 female employees in the Obama White House are being paid a median annual salary of $65,000, compared to a median annual salary of nearly $74,000 for the 232 male White House staffers. Unless and until Obama addresses (and closes) the 12% gender pay gap in the White House, it will be very hard to take him and Valerie Jarret seriously when they discuss the gender pay gap and how to close it, without acknowledging or addressing the 12% gender pay gap at the White House."