The institute for women’s policy research released its report on Oct. 21, or “Latina Equal Pay Day,” which marks the day that Latina women on average must work until to earn the same as their white male counterparts for the previous year.
The report showed that in 2020, Latinas earned only 57.3 percent of white, non-Hispanic men’s pay, around $28,911 less for a year’s work. They have the largest pay gap of any major racial or ethnic group. Their median annual income sits at $38,718 and is 200 percent below the federal poverty line for a family of three. If progress continues at this rate, it will take 185 years to reach equal pay with white men.
Some factors that may contribute to these outcomes are concentration of Latinas in undervalued service-sector jobs like healthcare, discrimination and educational opportunity. The report suggests that focusing on equity-based policies like valuing care and service work, as well as tackling discrimination, may help close the gap.
