.Nationally, Latinas working full time, year round are typically paid only 54 cents for every dollar paid to their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts. Today, November 2nd, we recognize Latina Equal Pay Day, marking how far into the year that Latinas have to work in order to earn what their White male counterparts earned the previous year.
That means that Latinas must work an entire extra ten months to earn the same wages as White men. We’ll let that sink in for a moment.
Those eleven months spent working without pay equity have a direct impact on the economic security of Latinas and their families. This pay gap equals the loss of roughly $26,095 each year for Latinas and their families.
There are a number of reasons that the wage gap exists. Women are more likely to be caregivers for children and family members, yet without supportive workplace policies of paid leave or affordable child care, women are more likely to work part time or leave the workforce entirely. Additionally, hiring practices such as requiring salary history can lead to pay disparities for women. Negotiating practices have also been shown to contribute to the wage gap. Even when factoring out education, occupation, and experiences, an “unknown” factor still shows that discrimination is a cause of pay inequality.
That’s why we need legislative action to chip away at some of the causes of pay inequality. There are currently four bills pending in the Ohio Legislature that aim to contribute to the close of the gender wage gap and address wage discrimination. Take action now to help us advance these critical pay equity bills:
