Hillary Clinton discusses gender equality in Silicon Valley speech

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (KGO) -- Hillary Clinton talked tech in the heart of Silicon Valley on Tuesday and the speech kicked off speculation 622 days away from the next presidential election.

She made a point of talking about equal pay for equal work as she continues raising her profile in the Bay Area.

In April, she spoke at a software conference in San Francisco. In July, she made the rounds to Facebook, Google and Twitter. In October she headlined a conference sponsored by Salesforce. And on Tuesday in the South Bay, so many women came to hear Clinton speak that the men's rooms were re-labeled as women's rooms.

Clinton, based on the applause she got, is very much in tune with Silicon Valley, especially on the issue of pay and the gender gap.

She could be testing the waters in the valley to see if certain issues would resonate as she prepares for a yet undeclared candidacy. One of the first issues that surfaced was the gender and pay gaps Silicon Valley.

"A woman with a bachelor's degree here tends to make 60 percent less than a man with the same degree," Clinton said.

As she made that point, the Republican party was attacking her, accusing her of paying women on her senate staff less than men and having a predominantly male staff waiting to shift into campaign-mode.

A Republican business consultant weighed in on the attack. "Everybody will use anything they can, right? I would hope not. Hopefully she'll be judged on the merits on which she's achieved," Christa Pedersen said.

Others believe there are other factors to be considered.

"I think there are probably different levels of organizations of pay, and if you get in early on or you come in at a certain salary, and there's only so much they can raise you, I think that's an issue that all women run into," Women Lead CEO Ilene Fischer said.

The 5,000 women attending the Lead on: Watermark Conference were hoping to hear Clinton declare her candidacy for president but she continued to be coy, saying she's still thinking about it.

For many, she is the presumptive front runner for the Democrats.

"There might be other people that might step forward, but I think she's definitely the person that has the highest profile and probably the best credentials," software engineer Anu Kallury said.

The former Secretary of State made it clear she's comfortable in Silicon Valley. She talked about net neutrality, balancing privacy against national security and she didn't even hesitate when journalist Kara Swisher asked her this question: Apple Watch or Fitbit?

"Well, you can tell I'm not doing Fitbit," Clinton responded.