Obama Declares Equal Pay Day, Despite History of Paying Women Less

President Obama declared Tuesday to be National Equal Pay Day, even as his White House has maintained a history of paying female staffers less than men.

National Equal Pay Day is a symbolic marker of how far into the year activists say a woman, on average, would need to work in order to earn as much a man did the year before.

“On average, full-time working women earn 78 cents for every dollar earned by men, and women of color face an even greater disparity,” Obama said in his presidential proclamation. “This wage gap puts women at a career-long disadvantage, and it harms families, communities, and our entire economy.”

Obama made the proclamation even as news outlets have pressed the White House on its o