Ross pushes fair pay for women plan, Hutchinson fires back

Democratic candidate for governor Mike Ross recently unveiled a “Fair Pay & Equal Opportunity Plan” he said is meant to correct disparities in pay between men and women.

The plan would protect employees from retaliation for discussing wages with their co-workers and when they raise concerns about gender pay discrimination.

It would “help employers with equal pay practices” and recognize those that excel in that area. It would also work with public and private entities to train women and girls on salary negotiations and recognizing pay disparities.

An annual report on pay inequity in Arkansas would be published with recommendations for closing that disparity.

Standing before a sign proclaiming Arkansas the “land of equal opportunity,” the Democratic candidate for governor said, “I want my daughter and yours to have the same opportunities to succeed as our son.”

Arkansas employers are already subject to a state equal pay law. Ross’ campaign said more needs to be done. He cited statistics from the National Women’s Law Center ranking Arkansas 35th in terms of equal pay for equal work, with women earning 77 percent of what men earn.

At the press conference, Ross received the endorsement of Arkansas first lady Ginger Beebe, also a Democrat. Beebe cited Ross’ support of the private option Medicaid expansion – 59 percent of whose recipients are women, she and Ross said. She also cited Ross’ support for increasing the minimum wage.

She said Ross’ wife, Holly, “will be an example of what women can accomplish” as first lady. Holly Ross introduced Ross before his speech. Ross’ daughter, Sydney Ross Pack, introduced Beebe.

In other campaign developments, the website Buzzfeed reported Thursday that the campaign of Ross’ opponent, Asa Hutchinson, had plagiarized material on its website about Hutchinson’s plan to teach high school students computer coding. The writing on the site was identical or similar to a blog post by Bloomberg Beta’s Roy Bahat, comments by Sen. John Thune, and a USA Today column by Hadi Partovi.

The Hutchinson campaign told Buzzfeed that the post was written by an unpaid volunteer and that it would add attribution to its website. On Friday, the website did cite and refer to its sources.

“I’m shocked by it,” Ross said after his policy announcement. “First he gets caught up in this tax scandal, and now he’s caught up in plagiarizing issue papers within his campaign. I think it speaks to character. It speaks to trust, and I’m really troubled by it and I think the majority of the people in Arkansas will be.”

Hutchinson offered comments to Ross’ plan.

“The most recent Talk Business/Hendrix poll shows that our campaign has a lead among women and that’s because we are focused on issues like job creation, improving education and strengthening public safety,” said Hutchinson. “I fully support fair pay that is based on qualifications and ability, and there is no place for unfair treatment of employees based on sex. I hope this is something we can all agree on, especially because I have a daughter and granddaughter, and I want them to have the same opportunities as my sons and grandsons.”

Hutchinson also responded to Ross’ reaction to the BuzzFeed story.

“Mike Ross needs to elevate his campaign to talk about the issues facing middle-class Arkansans rather than drive voters away in the waning days of the campaign by constant negative attacks. These attacks discourage young people from participating in the process and they do nothing to help create one job in Arkansas,” Hutchinson said.