Congressional staffers raise alarms about racial pay disparity analysis
A group of congressional staff associations representing staffers of color issued a statement on Tuesday laying out concerns about a report that found that nonwhite staff members earn thousands of dollars less in than their white counterparts.
“It is clear that equal pay is still an issue in the Senate. Our staff associations will continue to support and advocate that all non-white Congressional staffers — at every staff level, both state and Capitol Hill offices — receive fair and equal compensation,” the statement read.
The associations were referring to an analysis from the congressional staff record-keeping website Legistorm that stated both parties pay nonwhite Senate staffers thousands less in salary.
The Legistorm report found that nonwhite state staffers make 91 percent of what white staffers make, or $5,600 less per year. The gap is higher in Washington, D.C., where nonwhite staff members receive 86 percent of what white staffers make.
The pay gap is the largest among communications staff.
Racial minorities make up 30 percent of Democratic Senate office staff and 8 percent of Republican Senate staff, according to the report.
Senate Republicans pay Hispanic staffers the least — 92 percent of what the median white Republican staff member receives. That amounts to a $4,700 difference per year.
Asian American and Pacific Islanders are Senate Democrats’ lowest-paid group, making 81 percent of what the median white Democratic staffer receives, or $12,300 less per year.
The statement came from a collection of groups including the Congressional Asian Pacific American Staff Association, the Congressional Black Associates, the Congressional Hispanic Staff Association, Black Men on the Hill, the Congressional Korean Staff Association, the Congressional South Asian American Staff Association and the Black Women’s Congressional Alliance.
The groups said they are “deeply concerned and disappointed” by the data, adding that they want senators and senior staffers to commit to addressing the issue. The statement said the associations will also continue to push for offices to hire people of color at all levels to ensure diversity is not overlooked.
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