Biden White House has majority-female staff, narrowed gender pay gap to 1%
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
- President Biden has a majority-female senior staff, according to recently-released figures.
- Roughly 60 percent of Biden appointees at the White House are women.
- The president has long been a champion of pay equity, calling it “a moral imperative.”
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President Joe Biden has significantly closed the White House gender pay gap and hired a majority of women within its senior staff ranks, according to the White House.
The Biden administration released the analysis on Thursday, in an annual report required by Congress detailing the name and salary of every White House employee.
In a fact sheet, the White House indicated that women make up roughly 60 percent of appointees and 56 percent of senior staff, with individuals from racially or ethnically diverse backgrounds making up 44 percent of appointees and 36 percent of senior staff.
The gender pay gap has been reduced to 1 percent, with men making $94,639 on average and women earning an average salary of $93,752.
High-profile staffers including White House chief of staff Ron Klain, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, White House press secretary Jen Psaki, domestic policy advisor Susan Rice, and senior advisor Cedric Richmond all make $180,000 per year.
One of the highest-paid appointees is Molly Groom, the policy advisor for immigration, who earns $185,656.
Biden has long championed pay equity, calling it “a moral imperative.”
“In alignment with the president’s commitment to diversity and pay equity, the White House has taken significant steps to ensure the White House staff reflects the diversity of the country and the highest standards of economic and social justice for all,” the White House said in the fact sheet.
Women make up 50.8 percent of the US population, according to 2019 Census figures, and they comprise of 47 percent of the labor force, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Last year, Biden tapped then-Sen. Kamala Harris of California to be his running mate in the 2020 presidential election, calling himself a “bridge” candidate to a new generation of Democratic Party leaders.
Biden has also committed to nominating the first Black female judge to the US Supreme Court if a vacancy arises during his presidency.
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