Thursday during MSNBC/Telemundo’s Democratic town hall, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a candidate for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, was asked if he consider himself “a feminist” and if he understood the struggles people of color had to overcome in government and in business.

Sanders said he did consider himself to be a feminist and decried pay inequality in his response.

“I consider myself a strong feminist,” Sanders said. “In fact, Gloria Steinem, everyone knows she is one of the leading feminists in America, made me an honorary woman many years ago. I don’t know what that meant, but I accepted it when she came to campaign for me. Look, right now in this country, women are making 79 cents on the dollar compared to men. Minority women, women of color, are making substantially less. African-American women are making 54 cents on the dollar. This is absurd. This has nothing to do with economics and it’s everything to do with sexism. I will fight as hard as I can. And I’ve worked with Harry Reid. We have tried desperately to pass pay equity for women. I will continue that fight.”

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