Last Tuesday was Equal Pay Day, a day dedicated to making the general public aware of the alleged gender pay gap. It is also often reported that women make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. While the disparity can be largely attributed to women being more likely to take time off or working in lower-paid jobs and sectors, many argue on this topic just to advocate for more workplace regulations and signal their anger towards sexism.
Despite the stats indicating a much more complicated story, it’s fair for the idea of a pay gap between the two genders to frustrate many. It’s true that there are more women in lower paid occupations, but the over dramatic stats that are often cited to support the argument are mostly inaccurate.
These, often inaccurate, stats are also mostly used by those on the left, to try and push legislative agendas. Senator Elizabeth Warren has been a prominent advocate for leveling the gender pay gap; she also tweeted last year: “Equal pay day isn’t a national day of celebration. It’s a national day of embarrassment.” However, unfortunate as it may be, for her supporters and other advocates of the agenda, the Senator clearly lacks self-awareness.
Senator Warren’s office seems to be a victim of the same issue she has been publicly decrying. The Washington Free Beacon and The Daily Caller, both recently reported on the issue, alleging that employees at the Massachusetts Democrat’s office experience a pay gap of over $20,000 dollars for median annual earnings.
Warren’s employment practices show a worrisome trend. A look into her most highly paid employees’ data shows that there are more men at the top than women. Stats from April to September 2016, show that of the employees paid above $40,000 for the six months, nine were men while only three were women. What’s worse is that none of Warren’s female employees made over $60,000 and the top three earners were men, who earned up to $84,000.
However, Warren is not the only politician who pays women less than men. Among the most notable on the list is the unsuccessful Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. She reportedly paid women less than men in her three most notable positions; as a senator, then secretary of state, and lastly as a presidential candidate.
Former President Barack Obama was also an advocate for gender-equal wage rate, but it was found that women working at the White House were paid less than men.