Study of House Staff Salaries Shows Women Earning Less Than Men

More than two-thirds of women working on House committees earn less than $40,000 while nearly three-fourths of their male counterparts make more than $40,000, a study released Thursday showed.

The study by Rep. Lynn Martin (R-Ill.), which examined the annual salaries of male and female staffers on 25 House select and full committees, also found women make up 79% of those employees earning less than $20,000.

“If you are a woman, the Congress of the United States is a lousy employer,” Martin said.

Despite their nearly equal representation on House committees, 69% of women earn less than $40,000 a year compared with 28% of male staffers, the study said.

Pointing to the results of the survey, Martin called on Congress to comply with the anti-discrimination laws it imposes on the rest of the nation and bring the salaries of male and female staffers into line.

“No one’s above the law, except members of Congress,” Martin said. Martin introduced a bill in May that would apply the same hiring and anti-discrimination laws to Congress and the judiciary as those imposed on the executive branch and the private sector.

The bill would create an employment review board.