Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday denounced criticism of programs focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), reminding voters about underpaid athletes in the Women’s National Basketball Association.
“There are people in our country right now who suggest that focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion is a bad thing, because maybe they don’t want conversations like this to happen that include the issue of gender-based pay equity.” , said.
Harris spoke about DEI efforts during a campaign roundtable in Wisconsin about the importance of nursing home workers.
United States Vice President Kamala Harris at a campaign roundtable
US Vice President Kamala Harris (right) speaks with members of the WNBA Phoenix Mercury team in May 2022.
The vice president raised the issue of female athletes being paid less than men in the Women’s National Basketball Association as an example of what she was talking about.
“Whether it’s in the WNBA or recognizing the traditional work of women, nurses and teachers, it’s still underpaid, especially when measured by the value of the work,” she said. “The value of the work is profound in terms of what it does to lift people up.”
The issue of WNBA salaries was raised by activists after college basketball superstar Caitlin Clark signed a four-year, $338,056 rookie contract, even as top male basketball athletes typically sign multimillion-dollar deals.
From left, LSU’s Angel Reese, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and Stanford’s Cameron Brink pose for a photo before the WNBA basketball draft.
Some of the sport’s top athletes signed WNBA contracts last week.
The Biden campaign issued a statement from the president on social media in response to the news, arguing that the athletes “were not paid their fair share.”
Harris pointedly told the audience that she was “going off script” before returning to her oft-mentioned talking point about the importance of leaders focusing on “who you elevate” rather than “who you defeat.”
He said nursing care workers should be more valued and better paid.
“That’s the job of these workers that we’re talking about now and we as a society should value it,” he said.
Harris considers herself a college basketball fan, but she mistakenly said in March that women’s college basketball wasn’t allowed to have brackets until recently.
“You know, well, a little history lesson, you know that women’s teams weren’t allowed to have brackets until 2022?” she asked a reporter in South Carolina.
The NCAA women’s basketball tournament began in 1982, when 32 teams qualified for the college championship.
A spokesperson for the vice president’s office confirmed to DailyMail.com that Harris intended to refer to the March Madness brand and not “brackets.”