In The Community
Latinas are at the bottom of the pay scale among all women
The fact that Latinas don’t reach their equal pay day until the end of the year every single year is an economic travesty. Because the gap fluctuates up or down by a few cents every year, the date consistently changes, but what doesn’t change is that it’s always at the end of the year. Despite Latinas being one of the fastest-growing, most powerful groups in the U.S., they hold strong to their position among the least-paid.
All women should be paid the same as their male counterparts, but we must also confront the disheartening reality that some groups of women are disproportionately affected and why that is.
The American Association of University Women compiled the 2023 equal pay dates and the related wage gaps:
Source: The American Association of University Women Equal Pay Day Calendar
Equal Pay Day—representing all women—is March 14. Women working full-time, year-round are paid 84 cents and all earners (including part-time and seasonal) are paid 77 cents for every dollar paid to men.
Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Women’s Equal Pay Day is April 5. Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women working full-time, year-round are paid 92 cents and all earners (including part-time and seasonal) are paid 80 cents for every dollar paid to non-Hispanic white men.
LGBTQIA+ Equal Pay Awareness Day is June 15. Without enough data to make calculations, this day raises awareness about the wage gap experienced by LGBTQIA+ folks.
Black Women’s Equal Pay Day is July 27. Black women working full-time, year-round are paid 67 cents and all earners (including part-time and seasonal) are paid 64 cents for every dollar paid to non-Hispanic white men.
Moms’ Equal Pay Day is August 15. Moms working full-time, year-round are paid 74 cents and all earners (including part-time and seasonal) are paid 62 cents for every dollar paid to dads.
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) Women’s Equal Pay Day is August 30. NHPI women working full-time, year-round are paid 65 cents and all earners (including part-time and seasonal) are paid 61 cents for every dollar paid to non-Hispanic white men.
Latina’s Equal Pay Day is October 5. Latinas women working full-time, year-round are paid 57 cents and all earners (including part-time and seasonal) are paid 54 cents for every dollar paid to non-Hispanic white men.
Native Women’s Equal Pay Day is November 30. Native women working full-time, year-round are paid 57 cents and all earners (including part-time and seasonal) are paid 51 cents for every dollar paid to non-Hispanic white men.
In 2022, Latinas came in dead last with the 2022 equal pay day landing on December 8th at a wage gap of 54 cents. While the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic hardships affected everyone but millionaires and billionaires who actually added trillions to their wealth, Latinas were hit the hardest out of all women. Currently, Latinas are making waves in every sector and industry, yet they're taking home only a little over half (57 cents) of what their white male counterparts earn. While the over-representation of Latinas in the service sector and lower-wage jobs accounts for some of the disparities, according to a study by UnidosUS and the National Partnership for Women and Families, the Latina pay gap extends beyond low-wage workers and impacts Latinas at every level, including Latinas in executive and other professional roles.
It’s important to note that the further we dig into the data, the more disparities are found. The situation becomes even more dire when part-time and seasonal workers are included in the analysis, bringing the average wage gap down to 54 cents. Due to the illegal and exploitative employer practices who are taking advantage of undocumented labor, it’s impossible to truly document the full extent of the wage gap for undocumented women, but some studies have shown that undocumented Latinas are paid the least among all women, and undocumented Latino men still earn more than them.
When a significant portion of our workforce remains economically disadvantaged, it's not just a personal crisis for those affected. It's an economic crisis for the entire U.S. economy and the stability of our social fabric. Communities suffer, economic growth slows, and collective potential remains unfulfilled. The fact that some women reach their equal pay day much sooner in the year indicates that it’s imperative to understand the context and race-specific reasons that each group’s gap is either improved or worsened throughout the year.
When the cultural, systemic, and unique circumstances of each group are understood, solutions can then be found that address women’s unique needs.
How can we bridge the gap?
The reasons Latinas are paid less than most women are complex. Some of the reasons are cultural and some of the reasons are systemic, which means that the solution for closing the gap will have to include both policy and personal solutions. Some possible solutions that have emerged include:
- New and/or Improved Legislation: The Paycheck Fairness Act and the Raise the Wage Act of 2023 are crucial pieces of legislation that can help bridge the pay gap. Email, call, or write to your federal and state legislators. Make them aware of the importance of these Acts and urge them to support and expedite their passage.
- Support Latina-Owned Businesses: Encourage and uplift Latina entrepreneurs by consciously choosing to support their businesses. Money talks, and where we choose to spend the estimated one trillion dollars + that Latinas control, can send a strong message about the value we place on the Latina economy.
- Educate and Advocate: Share statistics and salary information, host community discussions, and amplify the voices of Latinas in your networks. Often, the disparity persists due to inexperience in how to advocate for yourself or lack of access to information such as salary ranges or workplace protections that may exist in your state.
- Re-evaluate Workplace Practices: If you're in a position of influence in your organization, take a hard look at pay scales, hiring practices, and promotion criteria. Ensuring equity within organizations is a vital step towards a broader societal change.
While Latina Equal Pay Day serves as an annual reminder of the pay disparity that Latinas face, the topic should be one that is discussed year-round, and action should be taken consistently. Gone are the days of calladita te ves mas bonita. Women will never reach wage parity if it isn’t demanded and fought for - history has made that clear. If Latinas organize and gather their collective power, they won’t just see their own wages increase, but also those of other women who are also being robbed of the value they rightly deserve.
Latinos represent all races. It’s important to note that Hispanics are considered an ethnic group, which means they share a common language, culture, and heritage, but not a common race.
According to Pew Research Center, a 2019 poll showed that nearly half of Hispanics (47% to be exact) preferred to identify with their family's home country, while 39% went with "Latino" or "Hispanic," and a solid 14% just called themselves American. With so many in the Latine community using specific and general labels, how do they choose which ethnic or racial category to tick? (By the way, at Luz Media, we use all these terms freely. We won't claim to be the final word on this never-ending debate.)
It's also interesting to note that Hispanic personal identity begins to fade across generations. Pew Research also found that at least 11% of American adults with Hispanic ancestry no longer identify as “Hispanic.” Rather, they report having “Hispanic or Latino” ancestry instead of using a label as their racial or ethnic label. By the 4th generation of U.S.-born Latinos, only about 50% are using the Hispanic or Latino label, and the other 50% identify as non-Hispanic with Hispanic ancestry or heritage.
As if that's not complicated enough, it should further be noted that there’s been an increase in some U.S.-based Latinos who have reconnected with their Indigenous roots and who decline to acknowledge any Spanish lineage or who instead choose to claim their indigeneity only or partially, whether genetically accurate or not.
As “Hispanic Heritage Month” celebrates the histories, cultures, and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America, it's important we understand and respect the diverse ways in which each individual chooses to identify. Labels often carry deep personal, historical, and cultural meanings, and it's a testament to the richness of the community that so many terms exist.
The beauty of identity is that it's fluid, multifaceted, and deeply personal, and understanding these labels is just the beginning of appreciating our rich heritage.
So, without delving further into the complex topic of race and identity, which could fill an entire Ph.D. curriculum, we'll focus on the surface-level subject of the identity labels that exist for Latinos, Latine, Hispanic, and whatever you choose to call yourself (and what people who aren't Latino call us).What is Hispanic?
This term refers to people who originate from Spanish-speaking countries. It includes Spain but excludes Brazil (where Portuguese is the official language). For instance, the reasoning goes that both someone from Spain and another from Mexico would be considered Hispanic because they both come from Spanish-speaking countries. The term was popularized in the U.S. during the 1970s Census as a way to categorize residents who identified with Spanish culture or origin, irrespective of race.
Many Latinos are weary of this label because it emphasizes the language and European Hispano roots and, in turn, the connection to Spain. For some time, "Hispanic" was the preferred term for those with roots in Spanish-speaking nations in Latin America. However, it has lost favor for what was seen as a more "precise" term for our community, "Latino.”
Hispanic remains as a legacy term, but is highly disfavored in its use to describe people from Latin American countries, rather than Spanish-speaking European countries like Spain.
What is Latino/Latina?
"Latino" (for men) and "Latina" (for women) are terms used predominantly in the U.S. to describe people who hail from Latin America or have ancestry there. This encompasses a large group of countries from Mexico in North America, through Central America, the Caribbean, and down to South America. As mentioned earlier, while Brazilians aren’t usually considered Hispanic (because their official language is Portuguese and many don’t speak Spanish), they are Latino because Brazil is in Latin America.
The term "Latino" gained widespread recognition in 1997 when the Office of Management and Budget included it in government publications. It was also used on the 2000 Census alongside "Hispanic/Latino." Its purpose was to create a broader umbrella for people with origins from various Latin American countries and a few Caribbean nations.
However, here's the issue: not everyone traces their roots to post-colonial Latin America. For instance, consider native Mexicans before Spanish colonization, native Mexicans in the U.S. prior to the Mexican-American war, and some Brazilians and other South Americans who don't identify as Latino. There’s also the gendered language component that many U.S.-based Latinos don’t identify with and argue isn’t inclusive of the non-gender conforming community.
The catch-all term that was supposed to include everyone unfortunately has more gaps than the well-worn chanclas we refuse to part with.
What is Latinx?
"Latinx" is the solution to the gendered Latina and Latino terms that was created as a gender-neutral and inclusive term, mostly adopted among younger generations and LGBTQ+ communities in the U.S. It's a way to encompass all identities, beyond just male and female, from the Latin American diaspora.
One common argument against the term "Latinx" is that seeks to change the foundational nature of the gendered Spanish language. Spanish language purists can’t accept the fact that a language could be changed in any way, although language is always in flux and changes all the time. It's worth noting that Spanish was the language of colonizers, and if the genocide of indigenous Latin-Americans had never occurred, many of us who aren't of Spanish descent might be speaking local native languages and dialects today. So, the "our Spanish is sacred" argument is a tough sell.
That being said, the disdain for this term is fairly widespread. Regardless of validity of critique or not, the vast majority of people simply don't identify with Latinx. According to the Pew Research Center, 1 in 4 U.S. Hispanics are familiar with the term "Latinx," but only 3% actually use it. They also report that young Hispanic women are the most likely to use it.What is Latine?
As the Spanish language continues to evolve for Latinos in the U.S., the gendered language with nouns often ending in "o" for males and "a" for females, created a need for a gender-neutral term. Given that Latinx was so disliked and didn’t work well linguistically, "Latine" emerged as a gender-neutral alternative to Latino/Latina/Latinx. The term has gained traction, especially in recent years, amongst those who seek a term that avoids binary gender distinctions.
Pronounced LAA-TIN-AYE, this term is no stranger to challenges, just like Latinx. However, the term Latine can be smoothly integrated into Spanish pronunciation. So, now we have a gender-neutral term that's both pronounceable and usable in Spanish.
Latine is the latest addition to the label game and seems to be gaining acceptance among our community. Since it's easy to say in Spanish, it looks like this term, initially the underdog, might be here to stay.
As an aside, Luz Media has adopted Latine Hispanic Heritage Month as its preferred label for the month.
What is Afro-Latino?
The term “Afro-Latino” is used to describe Latin Americans with African ancestry. Latin America, due to historical factors such as colonization and the transatlantic slave trade, has a significant number of people who identify as both Black or Afro and Latino. This term underscores the importance of recognizing and celebrating the diversity of the larger Latino community.
The term Afro-Latin@/x/e has gained widespread popularity as a response to the historical invisibility and deliberate erasure of Latin-American and Caribbean individuals with African heritage.
For even further clarity, "Black Latinos" is a label that includes Latinos of mixed race or those who don't identify with the "Afro" descriptor. These terms have risen in prominence as they enable discussions and confront the prevalent issues of anti-blackness and colorism within both our native Latin American countries and the United States.
In particular, the terminology regarding Afro and Black Latinos is evolving rapidly. After being marginalized and discriminated against for so long, the Afro-Latino community is eager to express their experiences and identities. Their voices are vital in the Latino community as a whole, and we wholeheartedly support their efforts to define their identities and shout out their pride in their Afro and Black roots.
What is Chicano?
According to the 2019 U.S. Census Bureau population estimate, among different Hispanic subgroups (that's their term, not ours), Mexicans were the largest group, making up a significant 61.4 percent. Following the Mexican group, were Puerto Ricans (9.6 percent), Central Americans (9.8 percent), South Americans (6.4 percent), and Cubans (3.9 percent). So, it's only right that we mention the OG label: Chicano.
Chicano is a term that originated in the United States and describes Americans of Mexican descent. It became popular during the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s when Mexican-Americans sought to regain control of what was a mostly derogatory term and define their identity in terms of cultural heritage, rather than immigration or class status, or assimilation. It's a proud declaration of Mexican-American heritage and has political and social connotations tied to civil rights and empowerment.
After the term’s popularity waned a bit, it has recently started gaining momentum with younger generations and popping back up into popular culture through music festivals, art displays, and celebration of Chicano culture more broadly.
What is Mestizo and Mulatto?
The term mestizo means mixed in Spanish and is generally used throughout Latin America to describe people of mixed ancestry with a white European and an indigenous background. Similarly, the term “mulatto” – mulato in Spanish – commonly refers to a mixed-race ancestry that includes white European and black African roots. In 2015 the Pew Research Center reported that Latinos identifying as “mixed race” was on the rise. In the study, respondents were asked if they identify as “mestizo,” “mulatto” or some other mixed-race combination, one-third of U.S. Hispanics said they do.
This tracks with the recent increase in the U.S. Census, where the increase in Hispanics reporting as “multiracial” continues, as it has been since the 2010 Census.
The topic of race and ethnicity for Latinos is as complicated as it sounds, and if we missed anything, it wasn't on purpose, we promise! The fact of the matter remains that U.S.-based Latinos don’t fit into a single box, and yet, for practicality purposes for media, research, policy-making, and a number of other important reasons, striving for an efficient way to refer to this community is an important endeavor.
No one term is going to be liked by all people. At Luz Media, we always strive to use the terms people identify with first, and a pan-ethnic term second. So, don't let this article stress you out too much. Remember, at the end of the day, we're all just trying our best.
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