Latina Equal Pay Day Shows Latinas Making the Most With Less

Woman with dollar bills surrounding her in a graphic.

October 29, 2020, marks Latina Equal Pay Day, the day when a Latina’s pay catches up to one year’s salary for a white man. When Latinas make 55 cents to every dollar a white man makes, it takes nearly 11 months to hit this equal pay benchmark. It’s also the last Equal Pay Day of the year, which means Latinas make less than every other demographic.


More than half of Latinas are the breadwinners for their households. According to the organization National Partnerships for Women & Families, lower wages mean less money for food or their children’s education. This puts Latinx households at an unlevel playing field from an early age.

According to a 2019 survey by the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, Latinas make up about 25 percent of the early childcare and education workforce. Lucia Castillo, the head of a daycare center inside a South Florida university, said childcare workers are not voiceless, people are simply choosing not to listen.

“This pandemic has everyone speaking up about the importance of childcare so that families can go back to work and have a better sense of normalcy,” Castillo said. “But what about the actual childcare workers? Do people care if we’re supported and able to provide for our own kids?”

Castillo echoes a common sentiment among childcare workers across the nation, especially as their work responsibilities to keep kids safe grows. Someone that might be listening to the challenge childcare workers face is former Vice President Joe Biden who released a $775 billion plan as part of his Presidential campaign platform that includes better pay and benefits for childcare workers.

Despite economic barriers Latinas face, research from Stanford Business School finds an increase of Latinas in business and that “they are motivated by ‘immigrant optimism,’ and through psychological acculturation, this group excels as entrepreneurs.” This rings true for Juanita Velez, the Lead Program Manager of International Social Media Strategy for Delta Airlines and the founder of Hispanic Young Professionals & Entrepreneurs (HYPE).

“I can hear my Papi saying ‘we are so lucky to be in this country’ every time I’m feeling down,” Velez said. “I think there’s a lot of truth in the immigrant optimism, This belief that we can accomplish anything in America, that we’re here to make a mark, shape our future generation’s lives and elevate our Latinx community.”

In 2017, Nielsen coined the term “Latina Ascent” in its report, “Latina 2.0: Fiscally Conscious, Culturally Influential & Familia Forward” report. Latinas are “breaking the glass ceiling by continuing to push forward—becoming breadwinners and the primary decision-makers in their homes…She is starting businesses, increasingly educated and young with a rising income.” The National Center for Education Statistics says Latinx students enrolling in undergraduate studies increased by 148 percent between 2000 and 2018, from 1.4 million to 3.4 million students with the majority of degrees earned by women.

Despite the “Latina Ascent,” the wage gap persists at higher education levels. The Sheryl Sandberg backed Leanin.org shows that Latinas without a high school diploma earn $457 weekly compared to the $612 a white man makes. Latinas with a master’s degree and higher earn $1,158 weekly compared to the $1,836 a white man makes.

Across all industries, Latinas are entering at higher numbers, earning more degrees, starting new businesses, and doing everything possible to obtain better pay.

“The work that has to be done to decrease this gap has always been left in the hands of the Latinas ourselves,” Velez said. “We need to be able to find allies that are holding that responsibility close to their heart and have the influential leaders that can activate growth in wages and close the gaps.”

According to a 2015 study by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, Latinxs are the largest racial minority in the nation. One in five women in the U.S. is Latina and will make up nearly one-third of the country’s female population by 2060. Latinx consumers account for $1.5 trillion in buying power.

So imagine what Latinas could accomplish if they made the money they deserved and the buying power doubled or even tripled?

“I choose to see my Latinidad as an advantage,” Velez said. “I speak different languages, I was raised in a multicultural environment, I’ve taken the best of both of my Colombian-American worlds and transformed it into the uniqueness that I can bring to any table. When you honor, respect, and value the worth of your heritage and background, the disrespect “te resbala” and motivates you to keep going forward.”

From Your Site Articles
a woman giving the side eye to a man

Have you ever met someone who seems overly confident, self-centered, or even downright rude? Maybe they constantly talk about themselves, disregard your feelings, or even manipulate situations to their advantage. And, if you're anything like us and countless other Latinas, you might've thought, is this person just a purebred a**hole, or are they a narcissist?

Keep ReadingShow less
woman surrounded by colorful illustrations
Image by Sayuri Jimenez.

Nathalie Molina Niño has never been one to shy away from breaking barriers, and now, she’s focusing her attention on a new mission: demystifying corporate boardrooms for women, especially Latinas. Molina Niño is the President of Known, an asset management and financial services firm, a veteran tech entrepreneur and builder capitalist, and a board member at the iconic lingerie Brand, Hanky Panky, and others.

Like many corporate boards, Hanky Panky hadn’t publicly disclosed its board composition until recently. After the brand survived the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Molina Niño decided it was time for more women, specifically more Latinas, to know what it means to be on corporate boards.

Coincidentally, the decision to finally be more vocal about this topic aligned with the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, which served as the perfect kick-off to the work.

"Something that rarely gets talked about and I think almost gets kept opaque by design is boards,” she explains in a recent Instagram announcement. “[This Latinx Heritage Month], that’s what I’ll be talking about.” Her goal? To equip more Latinas with the knowledge they need to navigate onto for-profit boards, where they can thrive and build multi-generational wealth.

For-profit corporate boards often feel like an exclusive club. And in many ways, they are, especially for Latinas, who hold the smallest percentage of board seats in Fortune 500 companies compared to other racial groups. According to the latest report from Latino Board Monitor, while Latinos hold 4.1% of these board seats (compared to 82.5% held by white people), only 1% go to Latinas. Molina Niño, a first-generation American of Ecuadorian and Colombian descent, is part of this boardroom minority.

When asked about her experience as a Latina board member during a recent Zoom interview, she said, “It’s been lonely. There’s not a lot of Latinas on boards.” She went on to explain that even serving on boards of Latina-founded businesses gets lonely because, “A lot of the times, people who serve on their boards represent their investors and, as a result, [...] you still don’t see a lot of Latinas on those boards.”

This lack of representation drives Molina Niño’s determination to increase Latina presence in corporate boardrooms. By sharing her insights, she hopes to give Latinas a roadmap to claim their seats at the table. “If you don’t know where to go, it’s impossible to figure out how to get there,” she says.

The Road to the Boardroom

Getting onto a for-profit corporate board isn’t an overnight achievement, but it’s not an unattainable dream either. People often think you need to be a CEO or have a certain type of background, but that’s one of the biggest myths about boards in Molina Niño’s experience. What they’re really looking for is expertise — whether that’s in finance, marketing, sustainability, or even technology. If you have that expertise, you’re already an asset. It’s simply a matter of which road you should take.

Understanding what boards are and how they operate is key to unlocking opportunities. For-profit boards serve as the governing body for companies, overseeing direction and financial stability, and guiding CEOs and executives in decision-making. But Molina Niño emphasizes that not all for-profit boards are created equal.

“There are two kinds [of for-profit boards] [...]. There’s the publicly traded business board and then, on the privately held side, there are, I would argue, two types of boards [...] the traditional business board and the venture-backed business board,” explains Molina Niño. Traditional businesses are often family-owned or long-established and may only form boards to meet requirements, like securing financing or transitioning through an ESOP. Venture-backed boards, on the other hand, are typically filled by investors who hold major stakes in the company.

According to Molina Niño, understanding the difference between them is how you can create a successful strategy. With publicly traded business boards, the whole world is privy to them, so, “The way that you get in there is a little bit more transparent. Sometimes those publicly traded companies will hire a recruiter to help them find new board members,” explains Molina Niño. For private companies, on the other hand, there’s no legal requirement to make announcements. As a result, most people don’t know anything about them or their inner workings.

“Usually what happens in traditional businesses that don’t have venture-capital investments is that the Founders, Executives, or the board members, if one existed already, they usually go to their friends,” and people they deem experienced to fill board seats. In other words, it’s the founder’s decision, and that’s an entirely different approach than hiring recruiters. When it comes to venture-backed business boards, the seats on the board are filled by whichever investor writes the biggest check.

This is why an understanding of the different types of boards and acknowledgment of their own strengths is what will help Latinas define a sound strategy. Whether that’s working with a recruiter, networking and connecting with founders to build trust, or making the biggest investment.

The Path for Latinas

For Molina Niño, the key to getting more Latinas into corporate boardrooms is education. Knowing what a board looks like and how it functions is how you can position yourself to get on it. In openly talking about this, without the mystique it’s usually shrouded in, Molina Niño is providing women, especially Latinas, with invaluable insights. “If we had Latinas understanding what are the three types of for-profit boards I think that, on their own, they would be able to figure out what their best chance is and adjust their careers to make themselves more competitive,” states Molina Niño.

When asked about the impact of increased Latina representation in boardrooms, Molina Niño flips the narrative. “Boards don’t help Latinas by offering them seats; Latinas help businesses thrive by being on their boards,” she says. “The whole point of sitting on a board is that you have experience and expertise, and as Latinas, you also have some cultural experience that everyone wants. [...] At the end of the day, we [Latinas] have to realize that we have a ton to offer and we have to be selective about where we put that expertise,” she explains.

As demand for access to the Latina consumer rises, Molina Niño predicts that more Latinas will find themselves recruited into boardrooms. But she’s not content to sit back and wait for that moment. By openly sharing her journey and insights, she’s making sure other Latinas know their worth and have the tools to claim their place at the table. “I realized that quietly being on boards that helped me personally is not helping other Latinas. [...] I was lucky enough to have friends who could advise me and share their experiences, so that’s why I’m doing this,” she stated.

With Hispanic Heritage Month as the backdrop, Nathalie Molina Niño’s mission is clear: “My goal is just to give Latinas enough information so they can make a plan for how to eventually get on a board that they’re paid to be on and that will eventually help them build generational wealth.”

flags of latin american countries fly behind performers wearing culturally traditional clothing

Ever noticed how September in Latin America is just one big celebration? As we wave goodbye to summer and avoid winter as long as we can, the streets come alive with parades, music, and festivities. Many Latin American countries celebrate their freedom this month, commemorating their hard-fought battles for independence from colonial domination. Let’s dive into these significant days and understand what makes each unique.

Keep ReadingShow less