During a contentious debate about women voters on Sunday roundtable, top Republican strategist Alex Castellanos downplayed the existence of a gender-based pay gap, a view which liberal MSNBC host Rachel Maddow described as “a serious difference in factual understanding of the world.”
A new study released in April by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that women earn 77 cents to every dollar earned by men. It’s one of several studies showing women are paid less than men for doing the same work over the same number of hours. The exchange comes just as Democrats and President Obama are upping their attacks on Republicans over issues affecting women, from equal pay to mandatory ultrasound laws.
On NBC’s Meet The Press, Maddow cited the 77 cent statistic, when Castellanos interjected that women don’t actually make less than men. “Do women make less than men for doing the same work” Maddow challenged him.
“Actually no,” he responded. “For example. Men work an average of 44 hours a week. Women work 41 hours a week. Men go into professions like engineering, science and math that earn more. Women want more flexibility.”
In other words, Castellanos argued that it’s not discrimination that causes a pay gap, but rather the choices women make about how much they work and what fields they go into.
Maddow rejoined that the disparity is the result of “structural discrimination that women really do face that Republicans don’t believe is happening.” She needled Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), a Romney surrogate who was also on the panel, for her vote against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that makes it easier for women to sue for gender-based pay discrimination.
The tussle took a more personal turn when Castellanos told Maddow, “I love how passionate you are. I wish you are as right about what you’re saying as you are passionate about it. I really do.”
“That’s really condescending,” Maddow replied. “I mean this is a stylistic issue. My passion on this issue is actually me making a factual argument.”
Watch the full exchange:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
