Observing Latina Equal Pay Day

Today is Latina Equal Pay Day, marking the day when Latinas catch up to what white men earn in the previous year. Latinas are one of the fastest growing, most powerful groups in the United States. Yet, for the first time in 20 years, the wage gap has widened for Latina workers.

According to the National Women's Law Center, Latina women working full time, year-round earn 58 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. That means a Latina would have to work until she is 89 years old - eight years beyond her life expectancy - to be paid what a white, non-Hispanic man has been paid by age 60.

That gap in pay translates to a loss of nearly $1.3 million over a 40-year career. All told, Latinas lose $32,070 in wages per year, or $2,672 every month, compared with white men.

What's more, Latinas are overrepresented in industries that are underpaid and often lack basic workplace protections. For women who are immigrants, their citizenship status often makes them more vulnerable to wage theft and sexual harassment.

Pay equity is not a goal-it's a necessity. That's why on this Latina Equal Pay Day, NOW members are renewing their support for urgently needed federal legislation like the Paycheck Fairness Act, which protect workers from retaliation for discussing pay, banning the use of prior salary history, and codifying pay data collection, and the BE HEARD Act, which extends federal protections against harassment and other forms of discrimination to all working people.

Equal Pay Today is a project of Equal Rights Advocates, with a mission "to eradicate the long-standing gender wage gap impacting the economic security of women, families, and communities of color." As Equal Pay Today Chair Noreen Farrell says,

"A comprehensive approach includes requiring equal pay for equal work, pay transparency policies from lawmakers, eliminating the subminimum tipped wage, protection from caregiver discrimination, safety from harassment and health hazards for all workers, prohibiting salary history to determine future pay, and increased access to higher-paid jobs for women. That's how you actually close the gap."

On Latina Equal Pay Day, we join Noreen Farrell's call:

"Latinas do not have one more day to wait for equal pay."