MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski highlighted the need for a “national conversation” on the gender wage gap and called on Republicans to either “come to the table” on the issue or “be quiet.” Such a turnaround will be difficult while Fox News remains the communications arm of the GOP, as the network has consistently perpetuated sexist rhetoric and dismissed workplace inequality as a “myth” not worth covering.

A recent report from the American Association of University Woman (AAUW) found that, one year out of college, women on average are paid just 82 percent of what men make and noted that the gap tends to grow over time. According to the report, this discrepancy between men and women's earnings has not improved in the past decade. A 2012 report from the Institute for Women's Policy Research explained that "[w]omen's median earnings are lower than men's in nearly all occupations -- whether they work in occupations predominantly done by women, occupations predominantly done by men, or occupations with a more even mix of men and women." As Think Progress has reported, women make less than their male peers regardless of their education level, industry, job, or location.

Brzezinski stressed the necessity of promoting a “national conversation” to address these issues, but Fox News and other conservative media have already hijacked the conversation and are undermining the possibility of open debate. Fox's Bill O'Reilly refused to acknowledge the pay gap as a real issue and questioned the point of disucssing it, while Fox's John Stossel has repeatedly attempted to debunk what he describes as “gender myths” like the pay gap. Radio host Rush Limbaugh has dismissed arguments about the pay gap as "tripe" and claimed that wages are only stagnant for people who “don't do good work.”

Though Brzezinski noted that the gender wage gap discussion is “rife with so many ways the Republican Party could really help address some of the issues,” Republicans face a major hurdle in engaging with such issues while Fox News remains the GOP's communications arm.