By Brent Scher • Washington Free Beacon
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) failed to acknowledge Equal Pay Day for the first time in her Senate career after it was reported on Tuesday that women working in her Senate office earned just 71 percent of what was earned by men.
Warren has used Equal Pay Day, which fell on April 4 this year, in years past as an opportunity to speak out on the gender pay gap. Last year she took to the Senate floor to call Equal Pay Day a “national day of embarrassment” and pledged to continue her “fight” until the pay gap was erased. She gave similar statements on Equal Pay Day in 2015, 2014, and 2013, her first year in the Senate.
This year, Warren was the only female Democratic senator who ignored Equal Pay Day entirely, and it was not due to a lack of opportunity.
She delivered a nearly 10 minute speech Tuesday afternoon and made no mention of equal pay. The topic of speeches during the session was the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch, but that didn’t stop fellow Democratic Senators Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), or Kamala Harris (Calif.) from acknowledging Equal Pay Day.
Warren didn’t even bother to send out a tweet recognizing Equal Pay Day—setting her apart from the other 15 Democratic women in the Senate.
California has enacted the country’s most progressive fair pay law. Congress must follow our lead. #EqualPayDay
— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) April 4, 2017
While more education can help increase women’s earnings, it still doesn’t close the gender pay gap. #EqualPayDay
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) April 4, 2017
In North Dakota, women earn 71 cents for every dollar paid to men – 71 CENTS. In 2017. #EqualPayDay pic.twitter.com/QYzrr3Opds
— Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (@SenatorHeitkamp) April 4, 2017
Today is about highlighting the importance of paycheck fairness for women, for families, and for our economy. #EqualPayDay pic.twitter.com/xjAW81GWqx
— Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) April 4, 2017
It’s #EqualPayDay & we’re live on the Senate floor on @GorsuchFacts’ record against women & working families https://t.co/CR7OfAVZdv
— Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) April 4, 2017
Every single day, women across the US contribute so much to the success of their families, their communities and their country #EqualPayDay
— Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) April 4, 2017
For #EqualPayDay, remember that pay gap is about income today & tomorrow. Leads to shortfall in retirement – avg of thousands less per year.
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) April 4, 2017
If the pay disparity continues on same path, the #wagegap won’t close until 2059. This is unacceptable. Women are entitled to #EqualPay. pic.twitter.com/uGKfAjFbWK
— Senator Cortez Masto (@SenCortezMasto) April 4, 2017
#EqualPayDay is a reminder to keep fighting for equality & make equal pay a reality. Pay discrimination hurts NH women & their families
— Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (@SenatorShaheen) April 4, 2017
Women have a right to earn an equal paycheck. That’s why I’m cosponsoring the Paycheck Fairness Act #EqualPayDay https://t.co/eubqC2hl2d
— Sen. Maggie Hassan (@SenatorHassan) April 4, 2017
It’s vital that hard work for a good job be rewarded regardless of what you look like, where you live, or what gender you are #EqualPayDay
— Sen. Maria Cantwell (@SenatorCantwell) April 4, 2017
Across America, hardworking women and their families deserve action on equal pay for equal work. #EqualPayDay pic.twitter.com/P8DF3uIy1q
— Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) April 4, 2017
On #EqualPayDay, Claire calls on @GOP (yet again) to finally pass the #PaycheckFairnessAct. Missouri women deserve a level playing field. pic.twitter.com/V0TDlx12Mu
— McCaskill Office (@McCaskillOffice) April 4, 2017
Put simply, women and men deserve equal pay for equal work. A shame that, in 2017, we’re still not there. #EqualPayDay
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) April 4, 2017
On #EqualPayDay women finally catch up to what men earned last year doing the same job. Women deserve equal pay for equal work!
— Sen. Debbie Stabenow (@SenStabenow) April 4, 2017
It wasn’t just a woman thing—Equal Pay Day was recognized by senior congressional Democrats and party leaders as well.
#EqualPayDay is a reminder that there are hugely consequential, tangible barriers that women face every single day that men do not.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) April 4, 2017
The Pay Gap is an affront to women’s contributions to our communities. #EqualPayDay
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) April 4, 2017
Women are making 81% of what men make and for women of color it’s even less. That’s nothing but sexism and discrimination. #EqualPayDay
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) April 4, 2017
It is unacceptable that a woman in Virginia will lose $482,000 on average over a 40-year career compared to a man #EqualPayDay
— Senator Tim Kaine (@timkaine) April 4, 2017
It’s simple. Women deserve to be paid equally for equal work. #EqualPayDay
— Sen. Al Franken (@SenFranken) April 4, 2017
Check out what @LeanInOrg is doing to celebrate #EqualPayDay.#20PercentCountshttps://t.co/Q2ovXDWNkG
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) April 4, 2017
On #EqualPayDay, we must remember that inequality for women means inequality for everyone. We won’t stop fighting to close the wage gap.
— Tom Perez (@TomPerez) April 4, 2017
It’s #EqualPayDay. Why are women still fighting for wage fairness? Here’s why: pic.twitter.com/P7QeE9REcw
— Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) April 4, 2017
Even Ivanka Trump chimed in to voice her belief that “women deserve equal pay for equal work.”
#EqualPayDay is a reminder that women deserve equal pay for equal work. We must work to close the gender pay gap! https://t.co/CcwsoBXWdF
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) April 4, 2017
Warren’s office did not respond to an inquiry into whether it planned to recognize Equal Pay Day before it was reported that the median male salary in her office was over $20,000 greater than the median female salary. The five top earners in Warren’s office were all men.
Warren has yet to comment on the pay gap in her office.