Harry Reid’s Hypocrisy on ‘Equal Pay Day’: All Senate Democrat Leaders Top Aides are Men

Photo Credit: AP / Cliff Owen

Democrats are trying to get the female vote in November with a public relations campaign about “equal pay for equal work,” yet they are not practicing what they preach. The White House and Senate Democratic leaders employ fewer women as top aides, so they earn less.

To play off “Equal Pay Day” on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled a show vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act, which shifts the burden to employers to prove pay discrepancies are not related to gender. Democratic Conference Vice Chairman Chuck Schumer tweeted Monday: “Without action to address the gender pay gap, women won’t reach pay equity until 2058.”

But Mr. Schumer, Mr. Reid and the others in the Senate Democratic leadership — Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Conference Secretary Patty Murray — are hypocritical in saying they want women to have equal seniority and pay.

Not one of them has a female chief of staff or communications director, the person spearheading this week’s publicity stunts. Mr. Reid’s spokesman, Adam Jentleson, did not respond to a request for comment.

Ms. Murray is the only woman on either side in leadership, but she’s also in the lowest-ranking position. The Washington Democrat tweeted Monday: “50+ yrs since JFK signed #EqualPay Act women still earn just 77¢ to every $1 men make.” Yet her top adviser and the communicator for this message are men.

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