By The Times Dispatch-MARKUS SCHMIDT 

State Sen. Ralph S. Northam, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, and his Republican opponent E.W. Jackson traded barbs today over pay equity and workplace discrimination.

In a campaign newsletter, Northam cranked up the heat against his opponent, criticizing Jackson for opposing pay equity, citing previous comments made by the Republican that suggest equal pay measures add nothing to the dignity and equality of women. “In fact, it may make some businesses leery of hiring women for fear of the litigation that may eventually result,” Jackson wrote on a Tea Party website in May.

According to Northam’s newsletter, studies have shown that in Virginia, women earn about 78 cents on the dollar that men earn, and the wage gap for minority women is even worse. “This is a vital economic issue for Virginia and another example of E.W. Jackson’s disrespect toward women across the commonwealth,” the letter said.

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