Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Rachel Maddow spent a considerable amount of time on her Monday show defending her argument that men get paid more than woman.
Maddow, who appeared on Sunday's "Meet The Press," severely clashed with Republican strategist and CNN contributor Alex Castellanos on the topic of equal pay. Castellanos continuously interrupted Maddow and disagreed with her point that men earn more money than women. Maddow fired back, calling Castellanos "condescending."
On Monday, Castellanos doubled down on his comments, saying that Maddow "restated an old and discredited liberal myth — that women are paid less than men, only 77%, for the same labor. The fact is women are paid less than men in America — but not for the same work. They are paid less, for other reasons." Castellanos argued that men work more hours per week and work in different professions, like engineering and science, which pay more.
In a rare move, CNN aired a fact-checking package on Maddow and Castellanos' clash on Monday. Reporter Lisa Sylvester used data from the U.S. Census Bureau and confirmed that Maddow was right—men do earn more than women.
Not surprisingly, Maddow dedicated a large portion of her Monday night show to defending her initial argument. She addressed Castellanos' major claim that men get paid more than women for doing different work. Maddow used statistics from the Department of Labor that demonstrated that men earn more money than women for doing the exact same work.
"If you are a driver, men get paid more. If you are a manager, men get paid more. If you are a janitor, men get paid more. if you're a retail sales person, men get paid more. If you're a sales rep, if you're a cook, a chief executive, a security guard, a police officer, a customer service representative, in all of those cases, men get paid more. In 19 of the 20 jobs that are the most common occupations for men in this country, women lag behind what men get paid for doing that same work," Maddow said.
She added that the same was true in the most common jobs that women have in this country. "If you are a secretary, men get paid more. If you are a teacher, men get paid more. If you are a nurse, men get paid more. If you are a cashier, if you are receptionist, a financial manager, if you wait tables. Again, the 19 out 20 that are the most common occupations for women in this country, women lag behind what men get paid for doing the same work," Maddow said.
"Overall," Maddow said, "If you aggregate everybody working in the economy in every job, women get paid 77 cents for every dollar that men get paid. For the same work, dudes get paid more."
Related
Before You Go
