AOC says women are disproportionately scrutinized after Biden's Treasury pick Janet Yellen reveals she was paid $7 million in speaking fees

• Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden's Treasury nominee, made more than $7 million by giving speeches on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley.
• In a 21-page financial disclosure form, Yellen lists 64 different income types, including her benefits from the University of California, Berkeley, where she's a professor emeritus.
• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter: "Probably an unpopular take but I think it's important the public knows what their public servants' financial & income streams are, regardless of gender or party."

Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden's Treasury nominee, made more than $7 million by giving speeches on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley.

In a 21-page financial disclosure form, Yellen lists 64 different income types, including her benefits from the University of California, Berkeley, where she's a professor emeritus. The bulk of her income, however, comes from speaking fees that climb well into six figures.

ING and PwC both paid her $225,000. Zurich-based Credit Suisse paid her $292,500. The list of other banks and investment firms that paid for Yellen to speak includes UBS, Citi, Standard Chartered, BNP Paribas, Bank of America, and Stifel Financial.

Big tech companies also invited Yellen to speak, with Salesforce paying her $67,500 and Google paying her $112,500.

It's not at all uncommon for ex-government staffers on both sides of the aisle to cash in by speaking at private events after leaving office. Former House Speaker Paul Ryan, ex-President Barack Obama, and ex-Senator Hillary Clinton each moved seamlessly from politics to the lucrative lecture circuit.

But public and media scrutiny of financial information "gets disproportionately wielded on women," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter on Friday. Her current and former financial situations have long been a topic of conversation.

It was still important, however, for the public to know Yellen's Wall Street ties, she added.

"Probably an unpopular take but I think it's important the public knows what their public servants' financial & income streams are, regardless of gender or party," Ocasio-Cortez said in another tweet.

—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 1, 2021

Yellen served formerly as Federal Reserve chair during Obama's presidency. She had been on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and was president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

—Janet Yellen (@JanetYellen) December 31, 2020

If confirmed as Treasury secretary, Yellen would be responsible for economic policy and enforcement decisions likely to effect organizations that have paid her.

"There has never been anyone more qualified to be Treasury Secretary than Janet Yellen. Period," Biden said on Twitter in early December.

He added: "I trust her knowledge and look forward to working with her to build our economy back better."

Biden's transition team defended Yellen on Saturday, calling her one of the "pre-eminent economic policymakers in the world today."

"Take a look at her record on enforcement - this is not someone who pulls punches when it comes to bad actors or bad behavior. You can expect she will bring the same high ethical standards and tough enforcement philosophy to Treasury," a Biden transition official said in an email.